PATRIARCHAL SYSTEM AND WOMEN’S EXPLOITATIONIN SHAHRAZ’S THE HOLY WOMAN: A FEMINIST STANCE

Abstract

We live in a patriarchal society where males dominate all spheres of life, subjecting women to marginalization, exploitation, suppression, and otherization. This research paper is an attempt to investigate patriarchal system and women’s exploitation as portrayed in Shahraz’s The Holy Woman, using feminism as theoretical lens. The Holy Woman is a literary masterpiece on feminism, focusing on feminist concerns. Qaisara Shahraz is a distinguished Pakistani writer who, through her female protagonist, Zarri Bano, highlights how patriarchal system uses women as puppet in its hands, treating them as second class citizens—inferior, othered, and subaltern. She examines the ways in which women’s agency, identities, and bodies are objectified and dominated by the patriarchal system. A close reading of the novel manifests that patriarchal societal system leads to women’s exploitation, suppression and marginalization. The patriarchal system marginalizes and silences women, asserting male dominance and legitimizing itself by manipulating religious practices to align with its own norms. Furthermore, this research paper will be a valuable addition to the already existing literature in the domain of feminism.