THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN’S IDENTITY IN THE HOLY WOMAN AND SLUM CHILD

Abstract

This study investigates the aspect of pejorative condition of Pakistani women through the comparative study of two novels The Holy Woman (2001) by Qaisra Shahraz and Slum Child (2010) written by Bina Shah. Both the novels scrutinize communal and gendered subalternity of women and their struggle for selfhood in male chauvinist society of Pakistan. This research specifically explores the issues of women such as how they are dispossessed of identity, right of choice and social standing in the disguised form of honor. The plight of female characters in The Holy Woman and Slum Child is analyzed relatively through the basic concepts of radical feminist concepts of John Stuart Mill to reconnoiter the subservience of female sex in Pakistan. It evaluates different religious and cultural practices that assign women a distinct status in society. This research is highly significant in determining the ways to empower the Pakistani women and it also paves the ways for the future researchers to uncover the works of Pakistani female writers particularly of those who raise the voice for women in their writings. Keywords: Pejorative condition, subalternity, feminism, empowerment, and exploitation.