How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"They want us to operate in burqa," the doctor explained, motioning with her head to the nurse at the door. "She keeps watch. She sees them coming; I cover." (3.39.77)
Here we see the jaded response of a woman who has been abused by power her entire life. Her resoluteness in the face of oppression is at once an inspiration, as well as a condemnation of the Taliban's ridiculous regulations.
Quote #8
Rasheed didn't say anything. And, really, what could be said, what needed saying when you'd shoved the barrel of your gun into your wife's mouth? (3.40.56)
When push comes to shove, power is simply about violence. Rasheed tries every trick in the book to break Laila's spirit, but each times, he fails. In this book, violence is always used to oppress the defenseless.
Quote #9
It was the raids. […] Sometimes monthly raids, sometimes weekly. Of late, almost daily. Mostly, the Taliban confiscated stuff, gave a kick to someone's rear, whacked the back of a head or two. But sometimes there were public beatings, lashings of soles and palms. (3.40.57)
Power is often achieved through public shaming. The Taliban use their ban on media to make people fear their power. Better yet, by making people afraid of them, they gain even greater control.