Feminization of Pakistani Political Discourse in The Heart Divided (1957) by Shahnawaz

Abstract

This paper discusses the way Shahnawaz, in her Novel The Heart Divided (1957), portrayed Pakistani political history of 1940s and attempts to explore the extent to which the writer has feminized the political history of Pakistan. This novel is selected because it is the most relevant to this discourse and is written by a women novelist, which describes that although the Pakistan Movement included women out of the political necessity to procure support for the establishment of Pakistan yet this struggle on the part of women finds its place in the pre-partition as well as post-partition Pakistani political discourse. Shahnawaz’s voice, in her novel The Heart Divided (1957), is most dominant of all in this connection because she voiced the struggle and issues of women, especially that of the educated and politically active women. Shamsie claims that The Herat Divided is the very first political discourse, by Shahnawaz, which portrays the feministic aspect of the political struggle emerging rapidly in the shape of Indian nationalism. Although the discussion is carried out on the political environment of the country under the British colonialism yet the story is narrated in the context of the lives of the Muslim women (Shamsie xxii, 1998). The political discourse is viewed through the eyes of a female character, Zohra and all the events related in the novel are somehow related to her, even the unsuccessful love affair of her brother is with her friend, Mohni. Shanawaz describes the effects of colonization on women' life, which is further complicated in that it is written to justify the demand for political freedom and a separate homeland. Shahnawaz indirectly confesses the fact that western education has guaranteed their liberation and the story reveals how their own customs oppress them more than the British. The portrayal of female characters in The Heart Divided (1857) is discussed and analyzed to assess the extent to which Shahnawaz has feminized the Pakistani political discourse.