DEPICTION OF THE STRUGGLES OF FEMALE PROTAGONISTS IN THE WRITINGS OF PAKISTANI ANGLOPHONE AND URDU NOVELIST: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Abstract

In the genre of English novel Pakistani female writers keep on emphasizing the struggles and hardships faced by women in male dominant Pakistani society. The main objective of this research is to examine and analyze that how the struggles of the female characters against the hierarchical structures are depicted in the fictional writings of the selected Pakistani female anglophone and Urdu writers. The present study deals with the comparative analysis of Bapsi Sidhwa’s The Pakistani Bride and Umera Ahmed’s Meri Zaat Zara-e-Benishan. The female figure in Sidhwa’s and Ahmed's fiction represents the oppressing attitude of the society towards the women to hinder their defiance along with the representation of the persistent behavior of female characters to endure the hardships. In the selected works, the female characters grapple with a variety of victimization experiences, exposing how men identify, control, and exploit women sexuality and bodies under the guise of their religious and socio-cultural customs. This research examines the different angles through which the females are presented in Urdu and English novels. Another underlying goal of this study is to emphasize the role of women’s writing in giving female characters a "voice" in their battle against patriarchal norms by implying Buttler’s approach towards gender performativity and Showalter’s feminist criticism. Such feminist English writings by female anglophone and Urdu writers are regarded as valuable contributions to the existing Pakistani literary body. Therefore, the work of selected female writers is critically evaluated in order to comprehend their role and value in confronting, exploring, and developing solutions to the difficulties women experience in patriarchal system through the literary channel.