Abstract
The chapter examines the works of Afghanistan's female authors' writings to understand the discursive identity construction concerning the appropriation of relational (i.e., symbolic) space. To pursue this goal, the chapter focuses on four novels by female writers: Nadia Hashimi's Sparks like Stars (2021), Homeira Qaderi's Dancing in the Mosque (2020), Fawzia Koofi's The Favored Daughter (2012), and Atia Abawi's The Secret Sky (2014). Drawing upon Michel Foucault's techniques of discourse analysis, the chapter seeks to delineate the dominant and the contested discourses on how resistance is enumerated and change is initiated by the female characters in the novel. It is argued that throughout the narratives, the relational space functions as an active participant in the construction of women's identities as well as in the exercise of power and the acceptance of truth and knowledge in the society.
TopIntroduction
Humans have a way of conversing about their world. These conversations construct identities and contest for building meaning systems. The necessity to converse breaks out due to the urge to be understood. But soon, the mounting needs drive it to seek power through the interacting discourses. What people remember as history and what shapes the objects of the discourse is evident in the viewpoints of the dominant narrative. It exists as an effect of the privilege received through power relations but also constructs the discourse in action for the marginalised sections. While the mainstream media has been available as the most castoff option in the competition to determine the prevalent discourse; literature has been the tool of resistance in this context, entirely at the disposal of the author and thus, is a power to reckon with. The Post-Normal times of these days have turned people into streams of intense emotions. These emotions strive for a chance to be heard and while the fast-moving life leaves people with increasing alienation, literature serves the role of life-jacket. Literature has been used time and again for raising voices, registering protests, and seeking freedom from wide-ranging bondages.
The air of Afghanistan has carried distinct fragrances of the world with it over time. And people have been forced to live with it irrespective of what they felt about it. Some inhaled it to make it a part of their inner self while others coughed, heaved, and choked on it. Few couldn't bear it and lost themselves in the process of fighting it. But one thing that this air couldn't change is the patience people of Afghanistan demonstrate in keeping up with the hope. Afghanistan once again is going through a testing period. When the US decided to pull back its troops from Afghanistan in February 2020 the hopes of women in the country must have been shattered (The Guardian, 2020). How decisions made by the society that is predominantly led by men effects the other gender/s has never been a matter of concern. Breathing in such a socio-political environment becomes a never-ending struggle. Identities, that develop, are not merely conflicted but devoid of the essence of life.
Identity is a fluid entity that is created as an individual moves in-between culture/society walking through the tangible and intangible aspects of the space he/she inhabits. It is in flux in terms of continuities and discontinuities experienced over time and subject to spatial dimensions. The analysis of the discourses constructed by selected literary works has been discussed emphasising the change that has been solicited by women in Afghanistan. The researcher has performed discourse analysis of the selected Anglophone literary works of Afghanistan’s female authors. By positioning the discussion in line with the question – “How identities are formed and form themselves within space”, the intention is to bring to the table the stories of change and resistance. The selected work has been treated as a combination of separate cases that have narrated the experiencing, appropriating, and finally changing of the spatial intangible attributes whilst the construction of identities was in process. The goal set to achieve is the juxtaposition of the construction of individual identities (female- gender) with the identity of the space they dwell in. The novels analysed are: Sparks like Stars (2021) by Nadia Hashimi, Dancing in the Mosque (2020) by Homeira Qaderi, The Favored Daughter (2012) by Fawzia Koofi, and The Secret Sky (2014) by Atia Abawi.
The study aims to investigate the works of Afghanistan’s female authors’ writings to understand the discursive identity construction concerning the appropriation of relational, i.e. symbolic space. The goal is to delineate the dominant and the contested discourses concerning how resistance is enumerated and change initiated by the authors/characters in the novel. The researcher has analysed the work in an attempt to understand the relational space as an active participant in the construction of women's identities as well as in the exercised power, definitions of truth perceived, and knowledge accepted by the society. Further, the intention is to throw light on the ways discourse of resistance constructs meaning systems in the presence of oppressing forces. So, the route to change is clarified demarcating how the restructuring of the space is achievable (as presented by the women authors in the literary work) by reconstructing identities through guided appropriation and orientation of the individuals.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Dari: Term used for the Persian dialect of the natives of Afghanistan.
Anglophone Literature: Term used for the English Literature produced by natives outside the primary English-speaking countries.
Ai-Khanoum: Hellenistic ancient civilisation (near the south bank of Amu Darya) brought in light by the excavations made during King Zahir Shah’s rule in Afghanistan by French Archaeologists.
Hazara: An ethnic community of Turk-Mongol race practicing Shia, Islam and have been subject to violence inflicted by Sunni groups, including Pashtuns and Taliban.
Loya-Jirga: An unofficial, traditional form (still in practice) of gathering representatives of all communities to discuss matters of social/national concern.
Pashtun: An Iranian ethnic community (largest in Afghanistan) spread across central and southern Asia mostly comprising Sunni believers.
Baba Ghor-Ghori: Is believed to be a legendary saint who vanquishes demons. In the book “Dancing in the Mosque” his reference is used in different ways.