Around 1997
Kabul, Afghanistan
The Breadwinner takes place after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 1996. Parvana says that her mother and sister have not left the house in a year and a half. The Taliban forbade women to leave the house unattended. Therefore the time period is about 1997 or the late 1990s.
The book takes place in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Kabul has been devastated by the war and most people live in poverty. At one point, Parvana's mother and siblings go to Mazar-e Sharif, a city to the north that has not yet fallen under Taliban control.
TIME
PLACE
THE BREADWINNER: SETTING