What does the line There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood mean, especially for Sohrab?

• A. It refers to Afghanistan's birth rate.
• B. It means children have many toys but little education.
• C. It means many children exist but their childhood is stolen by violence, so Sohrab's innocence is lost.
• D. It implies Afghanistan lacks families.

Answer: (C)

The line highlights how war steals the normal experiences of childhood. It points to a situation where there are many children in Afghanistan, but the world they inhabit deprives them of what childhood should be—play, safety, trust, and schooling. For Sohrab, this means his innocence is eroded by the violence, fear, and trauma surrounding him as a child in a war-torn country. He is exposed to cruelty and instability, and his early life is shaped more by survival than by the carefree aspects of childhood. This is why the statement resonates: it isn’t about birth rates or toys or families; it’s about the stark contrast between a population of children and the harsh realities that rob those children of a normal, innocent childhood.