'Parvana' Character Studies by Hayden Radford

Character	Description
Parvana	Parvana is the protagonist of the novel as one may have guessed by the title 'Parvana'. She is a young girl living in Afghanistan and when dire circumstances force her to go out onto the street and earn a living so her family can eat, Parvana sheepishly rises to the occasion. As the story progresses we see Parvana slowly go from her shy normal self and become a self dependent person earning a living for her family in whatever way she can.
Nooria	Nooria is Parvana's older sister, like most siblings they fight and argue a lot of the time. Nooria is often making snide comments about Parvana at every opportunity, but in the end they are there for each other. Throughout the novel despite their sibling rivalry they are always trying to help each other, whether it's Parvana working so that Nooria and the rest of her family can eat, or Nooria teaching Parvana at their secret school, at the end of the day they want what is best for their family.
Shauzia	Shauzia, is another young girl living in Afghanistan, and once she bumped into Parvana they became best friends. Shauzia, like Parvana, has to work on the streets disguised as a boy to earn a living for her family, here they team up together to earn as much money as possible, sometimes forcing them to do things their family wouldn't approve of. She holds similar values to Parvana in the will to do anything for her family, although she is slightly more daring than Parvana.
Mother	Mother, is mother to both Parvana and Nooria. Since the Taliban have taken control she has been dis-empowered and made to feel helpless. It was especially difficult for her when she had to disguise her own daughter as a boy and force her to earn money for the family. However Mother wanting to do whatever she can to help the family, regains some of her former independence by starting up and underground school with Nooria, so they can teach all the children of her household. Throughout the novel Mother is constantly displaying her dedication and love to her family.