Rediscovering the Discourse on Women’s Freedom: A Feminist Exploration of Bano Qudsia’s Fiction

Abstract

Bano Qudsia is an influential and one among the most celebrated Pakistani fiction writers. She has a special significance in normalizing the established regimes of gender in the Pakistani society. She presents, in her writings, the conditions and states of women that belong to certain classes in the modern world, especially modern Pakistani society. It will be a safe assumption to consider that she along with giving a discourse in her fiction has also lived in accordance with her ideals. There has been an extensive research on Qudsia, but she has never been looked into with the perspective of gender specifically. This paper intends to highlight the perspective of Bano Qudsia on freedom of women, as described in her novel Raja Gidh. Textual analysis technique of the qualitative methodology is being used for interpretation and description of the content of the novel. Under the textual analysis, ‗Close Reading‘ and ‗Narrative Analysis‘ has been done. Life spans of three characters of the novel are thoroughly examined from a gender perspective. The writer's endorsement of the traditional patriarchal view of the society and an attempt of its universalization by incorporating the theme of biological essentialism side by side in her novel, have been analyzed in this research paper. The impact of her novel in our society, especially against the budding feminist movement has been one of the detrimental contributing factors, leaving our women bereft and at the mercy of a traditional and heartless patriarchal society