"Docile or Not-So-Docile Women: A Foucauldian Reading of Ismat Chughtai’s “Gainda,” “Gharwali” and “Chui-Mui”"
Ismat Chughtai is one of the most celebrated South Asian women writers from the past century. Hence, most of the scholarship based on her few female characters from a select few stories largely deals with analysing the nature of female desire and sexuality. In this paper, we have extended the focus...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Department of English, Bodoland University
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Transcript: An e-Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://thetranscript.in/docile-or-not-so-docile-womena-foucauldian-reading-of-ismat-chughtais-gainda-gharwali-and-chui-mui/ |
| _version_ | 1797341777939660800 |
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| author | Rishiraj Sen Shweta Jha |
| author_facet | Rishiraj Sen Shweta Jha |
| author_sort | Rishiraj Sen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ismat Chughtai is one of the most celebrated South Asian women writers from the past century. Hence, most of the scholarship based on her few female characters from a select few stories largely deals with analysing the nature of female desire and sexuality. In this paper, we have extended the focus from sexual repression to the analysis of the power-paradigm in the space called zenana (domestic space)and its role in producing docile bodies. By using a Foucauldian framework in her lesser-explored short stories, namely, “Gainda” (transl. “Gainda”), “Gharwali” (transl. “The Homemaker”), and “Chui-Mui” (transl. “Touch-me-not”), we aim to explore the themes of surveillance, norms, and punishment and how these play a role in training individuals to be obedient to power structures and institutions. Moreover, we want to explore whether they always produce homogenised bodies or if there is a space for individual agency. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:23:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e47af2323b1f49f29d95c80f8d4b572a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2582-9858 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:23:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Department of English, Bodoland University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transcript: An e-Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-e47af2323b1f49f29d95c80f8d4b572a2024-01-27T17:22:56ZengDepartment of English, Bodoland UniversityTranscript: An e-Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies2582-98582023-12-01321731https://doi.org/10.53034/Transcript.2023.v03.n02.002"Docile or Not-So-Docile Women: A Foucauldian Reading of Ismat Chughtai’s “Gainda,” “Gharwali” and “Chui-Mui”"Rishiraj Sen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2921-1675Shweta Jha1https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6777-4935London School of EconomicsIndependent researcherIsmat Chughtai is one of the most celebrated South Asian women writers from the past century. Hence, most of the scholarship based on her few female characters from a select few stories largely deals with analysing the nature of female desire and sexuality. In this paper, we have extended the focus from sexual repression to the analysis of the power-paradigm in the space called zenana (domestic space)and its role in producing docile bodies. By using a Foucauldian framework in her lesser-explored short stories, namely, “Gainda” (transl. “Gainda”), “Gharwali” (transl. “The Homemaker”), and “Chui-Mui” (transl. “Touch-me-not”), we aim to explore the themes of surveillance, norms, and punishment and how these play a role in training individuals to be obedient to power structures and institutions. Moreover, we want to explore whether they always produce homogenised bodies or if there is a space for individual agency.https://thetranscript.in/docile-or-not-so-docile-womena-foucauldian-reading-of-ismat-chughtais-gainda-gharwali-and-chui-mui/chughtaisexualitypunishmentsurveillancedisciplinefoucault |
| spellingShingle | Rishiraj Sen Shweta Jha "Docile or Not-So-Docile Women: A Foucauldian Reading of Ismat Chughtai’s “Gainda,” “Gharwali” and “Chui-Mui”" Transcript: An e-Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies chughtai sexuality punishment surveillance discipline foucault |
| title | "Docile or Not-So-Docile Women: A Foucauldian Reading of Ismat Chughtai’s “Gainda,” “Gharwali” and “Chui-Mui”" |
| title_full | "Docile or Not-So-Docile Women: A Foucauldian Reading of Ismat Chughtai’s “Gainda,” “Gharwali” and “Chui-Mui”" |
| title_fullStr | "Docile or Not-So-Docile Women: A Foucauldian Reading of Ismat Chughtai’s “Gainda,” “Gharwali” and “Chui-Mui”" |
| title_full_unstemmed | "Docile or Not-So-Docile Women: A Foucauldian Reading of Ismat Chughtai’s “Gainda,” “Gharwali” and “Chui-Mui”" |
| title_short | "Docile or Not-So-Docile Women: A Foucauldian Reading of Ismat Chughtai’s “Gainda,” “Gharwali” and “Chui-Mui”" |
| title_sort | docile or not so docile women a foucauldian reading of ismat chughtai s gainda gharwali and chui mui |
| topic | chughtai sexuality punishment surveillance discipline foucault |
| url | https://thetranscript.in/docile-or-not-so-docile-womena-foucauldian-reading-of-ismat-chughtais-gainda-gharwali-and-chui-mui/ |
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