What messages does the novel Parvana discuss which relate to gender equality, and how does it relate to our world today?

The Taliban's oppression of women through institutionalized misogyny is by far the most important theme in the novel, as it is the factor around which all the characters' lives revolve. Because of the Taliban's terrorizing, dehumanizing laws that keep women within the home unless accompanied by a male, Parvana finds herself with no choice but to disguise herself as a boy. The theme of oppressing women's freedoms is also conveyed in Mother's refusal to participate in a society that denies her right to work as a journalist. In addition to her not being allowed to work, her daughters are denied access to education. Ultimately, the Taliban's fear of women's independence leads them to impose these restrictions they see as necessary to maintain a hierarchical structure within families and society that puts women in subservient roles to men.