Feminist Reading of Leila Aboulela’s “The Ostrich”

Authors

  • Wafa Yousef Alkhatib Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1305.23

Keywords:

marginalized, oppression, patriarchy, domination, Sudan

Abstract

The marginalized and oppressed women in Sudan, alongside the subaltern women living on the margin, are depicted in the current work. “The Ostrich” by Laila Aboulela shows the protagonist’s life of Sumra both in Khartoum, Sudan, and London in the UK. Sumra represents Sudanese women struggling hard to find their place in a patriarchal society. The structure of this article can be articulated in two arguments; the empowerment of patriarchal supremacy and the power of tradition implanted in Sudan and most third-world countries to marginalize and silence the role of women so that they can never be heard. Although women have got their studies at universities, they are still marginalized and have no full right to decide for themselves. Appropriating the analytical descriptive approach, the current study aims to demonstrate the marginalization and oppression of women in Sudan.

Author Biography

Wafa Yousef Alkhatib, Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan

Department of English Literature, Faculty of Arts

References

Aboulela, L. (2018). “The Ostrich”: Short story collection: Elsewhere Home. London, United Kingdom, Westbourne.

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Hashim, F. (2018). Political economy of violence against women in Sudan. DAWN Discussion Paper 12. Suva (Fiji).

Makuchi, J. and Nfahn, A. (1997). Gender in African women’s writing: Identity, Sexuality, and Difference. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Nada, M. (2011). Gender and state building in South Sudan: Special report by the United States Institute of Peace. Washington DC. Constitution Ave., NW. Washington, DC.

Stephan, R and Mounira C. (2020) (Eds). Women rising: In and beyond the Arab Spring. New York, U.S.A. New York University Press.

Patrick, W., Chrisman, L. (1994). Colonial discourse and postcolonial theory: A reader “Can the Subaltern Speak” Gayarti Spivak. Great Britain, TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall.

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Published

2023-05-01

Issue

Section

Articles