KITE RUNNER JOY: Author’s Pride At Trans Daughter
Best-selling author Khaled Hosseini has revealed how his “strong and undaunted” daughter has come out as a trans woman.
Hosseini – creator of the international hit novel ‘The Kite Runner’ – hailed his daughter Haris for teaching their family “so much about bravery and truth”.
And the Afghan-American writer vowed to support her “every step of the way”.
Hosseini used Twitter to announce his daughter’s coming out on Wednesday (13th July).
He said: “Yesterday, my daughter Haris came out as transgender.
“I’ve never been prouder of her. She has taught our family so much about bravery and truth.
“I know this process was painful for her. She is sober to the cruelty trans people are subjected to. But she is strong and undaunted.”
The 57-year-old added: “I love my daughter. She is beautiful, wise, brilliant. I will be by her side every step of the way. Our family stands behind her.”
He included a photo of Haris now and another as a young boy with him.
At the time of writing, the first part of the two-part thread had been ‘liked’ 82,100 times.
Haris, 21, is one of two children Hosseini has with his wife, Roya. The family lives in northern California.
Hosseini became renowned for his debut novel ‘The Kite Runner’ in 2003, telling the story of a young boy set against the backdrop of Afghanistan’s recent bloody history.
His 2007 novel ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ was also critically acclaimed.
Twitter user ‘Cami’ commented: “Does bring to mind one of my fav lines from your book, ‘she is the noor of my eyes and the sultan of my heart’. You are both blessed to have each other.”
While ‘Susan Brown’ wrote: “How wonderful. Every trans person should have this love and understanding from their family.”
Human Rights Watch writes of Hosseini’s homeland: “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Afghanistan, and others who do not conform to rigid gender norms, have faced an increasingly desperate situation and grave threats to their safety and lives since the Taliban took full control of the country on August 15, 2021.”
The Kabul-born novelist is also a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees goodwill ambassador.
