What are the greatest practical application lessons someone can learn from reading "The Kite Runner" about the Afghan/Muslim culture?

A friend is writing a paper about respecting differences in the American and Afghan culture using “The Kite Runner” as her primary source of information. Her particular focus is respecting cultural differences in Labor & Delivery. Since I’ve had to have a similar discussion for a class of mine and have read the book more thoroughly than she has, I’m trying to help her (but want to make sure I’m not missing anything).

What would you say are the greatest lessons one could learn about cultural differences from this book? Also, how might one reduce disparities in culture in order to make a family more comfortable when welcoming a new family member into the world?