Why is General Taheri's wife described as having a "heartbreakingly eager, crooked smile and....barely veiled hope in her eyes?"

Amir looks at how submissive and powerless women, like General Taheri's wife, are. Her daughter had no romantic prospects and Amit realizes the immense power he wields simply because of his gender,

"And now, this woman, this mother, with her heartbreakingly eager, crooked smile and the barely veiled hope in her eyes. I cringed a little at the position of power I'd been granted, and all because I had won at the genetic lottery that had determined my sex."