The Breadwinner Characters

Meet the Cast

Parvana

Parvana is not your typical eleven-year-old girl, but she would certainly like to be. She is living in Kabul—a city in Afghanistan—under Taliban rule, so she is surrounded by violence, oppressi...

Father

Father may be frail and old at first glance, but he is the family patriarch, and a source of serious wisdom and experience, especially for Parvana. A former history teacher, pretty much every time...

Mother

Mother is one resilient woman. Thanks to the Taliban, she's lost a son, her career, her house, and even—for a while—her husband, but every time she gets knocked down, she pulls herself back up....

Nooria

Big Sister with Big PlansNooria is a typical older sister—she's bossy and controlling and most of the time you just want to tell her to shut up. Everything about her drives Parvana nuts, includin...

Mrs. Weera

Coach What do you get when you cross a linebacker with the team's mascot? Why Mrs. Weera, of course. A former track star, hockey coach, and physical education teacher, Mrs. Weera lives her life thr...

Shauzia

Shauzia, like Parvana, dresses up like a boy to support her family. She was Parvana's classmate in school, and when Parvana runs into her at the market, they both are thrilled to have friend to sha...

Ali and Maryam

Parvana's little brother and sister haven't been out of the house in eighteen months, and since Ali is only two years old and Maryam is only five, this means they've had pretty bleak childhoods. Al...

Hossain

R.I.P.Hossain was killed by a land mine when he was fourteen, before our story begins. And though this is a terrible way to die, it's woefully common in Afghanistan, and part of his character's rol...