An Insight Into the Postcolonial Feminism Using Abdullah’s Short Story “Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust”

Abstract

Postcolonial feminism is a collection of numerous ideologies aimed at explaining, initiating and preserving social, economical, political and legal rights of women in post-colonial settings. Many literary figures have put down their minds on paper to elaborate the themes of postcolonial feminism; Shaila Abdullah is one of those writers who have painted the miseries of feminine bodies in postcolonial milieu. This study concentrates on one of the short stories of Shaila entitled “ashes to ashes and dust to dust”, to explore the notions of oppression, power, hegemony and patriarchy through gender lens. Under the light of postcolonial feminism, the paper examines the protagonist of the story, ‘Dhool’ and investigates the relations and interactions between opposite genders to analyze impact of patriarchal society on the lives of feminine segments of society. The analysis depicts that the instances of patriarchy are universalized in the text, which dominate the physical and psychological state of the genders, specifically females. Through the demonstration of the courageous opposition of the character Dhool against patriarchy, the writer symbolizes the traces of feminism among postcolonial women. However, the overall journey of Dhool in the story validates the prominence of male power which makes her identity and physical presence devalued as well as makes her appearance not more than an object for men to fulfill their desires.