Feminism In Zahra By Al-Shaykh's Zahk

1229 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Representations of women as victims in media

Throughout century, man has being also the center of all activities. Man are related to active, violence, and more active than woman, The society has made it this way and still has the concentration of dominance and superiority of man all over the world. This injustice on women is so getting crucial to a point where many women activists are trying to stop this bad treatment on woman in the world. In the story of Zahra by Al- Shaykh, Hanan use this story to illustrate the problems of war and consequences female are still enduring until this day. The concept of violence and war illustrate the power of masculinity over feminist due to their weaknesses, unequal treatments and their view as objects in the society.

The book story of Zahra is …show more content…

The obstacle that Zahra is facing is the result of how her behavior and how her psyche become society’s into the destruction of war. In her early year at the beginning of the story, brutal father rejection of her because of her acne and this war a symbolic for her inner scar. She is victims of her own father being a hater .Within this Context Ann Adam commented that: "Zahra 's abject and acne-filled face not only makes visible the emotional scars this upbringing has had on the sensitive young girl, but also literalizes the ever increasing gender conflict…between men and women for the control and regulation of female bodies” to show the abuse of the father on her own daughter because of his masculinity. He has more power on her because she respect her as a father which he takes advantages not by treating her as a puppet. This is also one of the symbol of man’s dominance in the world on the society because of all actions leading to cruelty toward females as a symbol of object. The author used this quote to help the audience understand this theme when we see “He would scold me severely whenever he caught me playing with my pimples….My father would go raving mad every time he noticed my face and its problems .He would nag my mother sarcastically : “ That will be the day when Zahra married. What a day of joy for her and her pock-marked face! (24-5)”. The author is trying to convey to us about the fear, dominance the father has in the family. It looks like anything Zahra must do must be check and be accepted, notify by the father before she goes on further. His cruelty toward her own daughter has made her to believe the tension of male on her is unwanted. She understood the description of feminism in the patriarchal way in the society as herself being rejected, unloved and discriminated against by its own people such as his father. In other word not only the

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Anne Meneley's Tournament Of Values

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    In recent years, in the United States, the nation’s view towards Middle Eastern women has been altered, due to, their involvement in domestic and global terrorism. Along with, news of Middle Eastern women being mistreated by men and their society because of their gender. In other words, Middle Eastern women are subjected to gender-based violence and gender inequality, as a result, of their sex. In Anne Meneley’s Tournament of Values: Sociability and Hierarchy in a Yemeni Town, Meneley briefly touches upon gender-based violence and gender inequality, but focuses more on how hierarchy plays a role in the way sociability is developed in Zabid, a Yemeni town. When I read Anne Meneley’s Tournament of Values, I learned that in Zabid, women play a

    Read More

  • Role of Women in the Epic of Beowulf

    1575 Words  | 4 Pages

    The author's views on women may never be fully revealed, but it is clear that he believes in male superiority and that insurgent females ought to be suppressed. Like Wealhtheow, females should only exert minimal power and influence, but they should always keep the drinks coming.

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Women's Swimming Pool By Nawal El Saadawi

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both el Saadawi and Al-Shaykh both show how perception and expression are both affected within the confines of politics, social opportunities, and male privilege depicted in their stories. Whether the reader is a follower of the feminist movement or not, it is very clear and easy to see that these women are not being treated with the respect that any human being deserves. The misogynistic stranglehold on society, especially in this part of the world, is excessive and avoidable in today’s world but it is very likely that the traditional, conservative ways of the past will continue to control and inhibit women from being able to be fully treated as equals for many years to come, perhaps even after this generation has

    Read More

  • Social and Gender Standards: Tahar Jelloun's The Sand Child

    1153 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ahmed’s mother is the first to fall into playing her stereotypical social construct after her husband; Hajji Ahmed beats her for not supplying him with an heir, a son. “One day he struck he struck her, because she had had refused to subject herself to a last, desperate ordeal…” This act shows Ahmed’s mothers weakness, a gender normative of women, compared to her husband. However instead of lashing back she accepts the fate she has put herself into. She punishes herself similar to the acts her husband acts onto her. “She, too, began to lose interest in her daughters…and struck her belly to punish herself.” At this point in the novel, it is evident that Ahmed’s mother is adjusting her own belief to match that of Hajji. His reoccurring distaste for his seven daughters has rubbed onto his wife. This compliance to accept her husband’s belief fits into that mold that says that women are not assertive and follow with what their husbands want. The next section femininity is seen in it’s natural essence is seen at the end of chapter three when Ahmed has been attacked and his father confronts him about his girlish ways.

    Read More

  • Analysis: Women Without Man

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    This time, she used a new medium, the feature-length film, to express her feeling of Iranian society, and she declared that the film is telling a story rather than conveying a concept (754). In this way, the film Women Without Men tells four women’s story in islamic society, and Neshat tired to use these four emotional and sad stories to reflect women’s status in islamic society. Shirin Neshat separated the film to different sections, and each section tells a single story of each woman (754). All of them are from different social classes and backgrounds, and they meet each other in a garden where they try to live safely during the difficult time in 1953 coup (754). Zarin is a young woman from the lowest social class who is unwilling to be a prositutue, and her struggle was shown when she lost herself in brothel (754). Munis and Faezeh represent two positions of women in middle class; Munis cares about political events, however her brother always prevent her from participating in political events (Danto 223); in this way, Munis’s struggle emphasize a gender issue in Islamic society that women has to right to participate in political events. On the contrary, compare to Munis, Faezeh is a very traditional woman, however, this character in the film reflects a serious issue in Islamic society, which is sexual assault (215). Unlike other

    Read More

  • Feminism In Lysistrata

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    Feminists from various eras have shown moments of resignation, wondering whether they have become masculine in their struggle against male oppression. This struggle does not have an easy answer. One feminist retaliation to Lysistrata’s approach is that the marriage of beauty and submissiveness is a totalitarian quality invented by males to make women feel dependent or incomplete without male affection. At the same time, Lysistrata makes clear that militancy is a decisively male quality, as throughout history men have been the ones to initiate battles. During the Gulf War, it was common to find bumper stickers that said: “If Women Rule the World, There Would Be No

    Read More

  • Feminism In Antigone And Wicked

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women and men fear the thought of an empowered woman and the thought of feminism. Women fear that will be punished by men if they stand against them and fear that being a feminist will make them cruel and lonely. Men fear that women will one day rise and surpass them. But it is with these women that great change can come. Being a feminist does not require a person to hate men nor does it isolate a person from the rest of the world. In both texts we witnessed that there are people who reinforce conventional views of gender roles and those who challenge them. The life is a feminist is challenging but much more rewarding at the same time.

    Read More

  • Women are not only Beautiful, but Equal: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since the beginning of time, women have strived to achieve an equal status in society. The vast majority of women have rebelled against the norm for equal status. As if washing the dirt off one’s hands, women are forgotten for all of their achievements. The identity of women in the Western world has evolved from domesticity and servility, and moved toward their valuation as individuals of intellect, talent, and independence. The culture about women’s empowerment has been reflected in literature and history throughout many ages.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Feminism And Peace, And Persepolis

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through the years, the roles within gender have been imposed by us in all kind of societies. In a lot of culture woman are seen very poorly. Woman and man in different cultures are always fighting for equality, for the rights, for freedom, and for peace. Chapter ten “Feminism And Peace” of Discovering the twentieth-century world and "Persepolis," we can see three women from different cultures outside Europe and America fighting against war, military, and nuclear weapons. In both cases, “Feminism And Peace” and “Persepolis” the message is that woman are in favor of piece, no because they are woman but because they are humans.

    Read More

  • Book Report: Return of the Pharaoh

    1145 Words  | 3 Pages

    The book begins with an attempt on Zainab’s life, presumably by Nasir’s forces. Later, the Muslim Ladies Group is banned when Zainab refuses Nasir’s offer to join the Socialist Union. She then engages in secret meetings with Muslims in h...

    Read More

  • Women's Gender History

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    With the change of the society from the primitive period to technological globalized world, people tend to believe that men and women have the equal rights in workplace or domestic life. But it does not happen so. Women have always been the second class to the man because of the inequality in wages, workplace and domestic life. Women movement started after the late 19th century and early 20th century but the involvement of women in the political events in the past goes far beyond the history. Most of the chronological event of the history is written in the male’s perspective. That’s why feminist historians tend to focus only women in women’s history.

    Read More

  • Women in Art and Their Role’s in Society

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women have played many roles in societies since the dawn of time ever changing with time and from society to society. Each society hold a special place and role for women good and bad. Freedoms and equality of women has varied from opression to freedom. I will discuss some specific pieces of art and explain how the art shows the role of women in a specific society. I will tell you of their paril and achivements through time. Giving you a glimpse into the lives of women and how they were percieved by males and society. Some have have reveared women and some have disrespected them but through it all women have found a way to perservear. Women hold a place in history from culture to culture, and we see this in many pieces of art. From the art we can have a glimpse into a culture view of women and how they were treated in society.

    Read More

  • Violence In Toni Morrison's Authoritarianism Of Women

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book, women have been given the ability to amass power and threaten the authoritarianism of men. On the other hand, the story revolves around the era of civil right. People are oppressed and threatened because of what they believe during this period. It is in the same process that the woman transforms into the victim and oppressed. It is through violence that the women undergo repression from men. In the same moment, it can be identified that the black community starts fighting for equality in the black community that became patriarchal (Shreerekha et al. 34). Throughout the

    Read More

  • Gender Discrimination In Islam Essay

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    Naturally we human beings are divided into 2 genders i.e. Male and Female. Both these genders are given certain responsibilities and rights which suit them. Discrimination is the practice of granting or denying rights or offer privileges based on the gender. Over the years women status has been studied in diverse contexts in diverse perspectives. But Islamic perspective is the most misunderstood concept by Non-Muslims scholars and also by some moderate Muslims generally. Muslims principal book is The Quran and many verses of the Quran tells in text that the Creator of human being says: “I shall not lose sight of the labor of any of you, who labors in my way, be it man or woman, each of you is equal to the other”. But still in today’s world and in the society in which we live many people are there with the misconception that in Islam women are not given equal rights as men. They think that women should always be behind and cannot be a leader. Further in this assignment we will see and try to understand the existence of Gender Equality in reality in Islamic perspective.

    Read More

  • Anita Desai Novel Analysis

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this novel womanly sensitivity generally women alike male foresees firing in all its methods and acknowledgement. They battle for Equality of women rights historically and politically. They stress on the esteem of females in the

    Read More

More about Feminism In Zahra By Al-Shaykh's Zahk

Open Document