From Resistance to Resilience: A Feministic Analysis of Shahraz’s The Holy Woman

Abstract

This study focuses on the portrayal of Pakistani women's resistance and resilience in Shahraz's The Holy Woman (2001). The study explores the atrocities and domestic violence faced by women in Pakistan that how they are denied freedom of expression. The novel narrates the story of a young woman Zarri Bano who becomes a holy woman to enable her father to keep control of his land. In the sub-continent, women are exploited in the name of religion. The custom of holy woman practices in rural Pakistani areas to take control of land through the woman. This study's main aim is to highlight the cruelty of the patriarchal system in which women are deprived of their rights. Women are exploited both sexually and emotionally. Using Mohanty’s theory given in Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity published (2003), this paper analyzes resistance and resilience of women in the novel The Holy Woman published. This book is based on Mohanty’s critique of western feminism. This paper has used the method of textual analysis. The events and lines that depict the enactment of resistance and resilience have been analyzed through Mohanty’s feminism's prism.  The novel is the prime source of interpretation of this study. The current study concludes that Zarri Bano’s character has been shown in the light of resistance to resilience. She proves herself a resilient woman by overcoming the weary traditions and living a normal life again.