Ableism in The Kite Runner
The oppression of people with disabilities is ableism. There are many references throughout the book about this, but the most prevalent character who demonstrated this was Ali, who was Amir's father's Hazara servant. In the book, Ali was described as having, a congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles, which robbed him of the ability to smile or show his emotions with facial expressions. Another disability was his withered right leg caused by polio. Throughout Ali's life, kids would make fun of him because of his forlorn face and his crippled leg. It was written that, "They chased him on the street, and mocked him when he hobbled by. Some had taken to calling him Babalu, or Boogeyman." People made fun of him for his physical differences and saw him as an outcast. That is, Ali was not accepted as being normal: people always saw his disabilities first and saw that he was an outsider. Moreover, mockery and degradation were used to make Ali and other people feel inferior. Another example is Hassan, Amir's childhood friend who had been born with a cleft lip. This birth defect, coupled with the fact that he was of Hazara ethnicity subjected Hassan to verbal abuse and seclusion since childhood. This type of oppression was to show them further that they were not normal; that they were not only outside the other members of society, but that they are inferior, defective, and ugly.
The oppression of people with disabilites is hardly ever addressed by society. Most people have an able-bodied mindset instead of considering people with disabilities as well. When you walk up a small flight of steps do you notice if there's a ramp available for people with a wheelchair? Not only are there not enought accommadations for people with disabilities, but they are also treated differently by most of society. For instance, just because they are disabled, it doesn't mean that they are incapable of doing things on their own. Being disabled doesn't mean they are helpless. Society has to be sensitive towards people with disabilities, whether the disability is visible or not. Disabilities can include: physical impairment, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, intellectual impairment, mental illness, and various types of chronic disease. Calling people "retarded" as a joke, is offensive and a definite form of ableism. By using hurtful terms that are in reference to people with disabilties, people are furthering the oppression of people with disabilities in society, and making even more internalized than they already are.