Archived achievements

My years at university as an English Literature major greatly influenced my journey as a writer, but also greatly nourished and shaped my personal growth. My professors continually encouraged me to push passed my social anxiety, really explore my ideas, and challenge myself to share them. As a result, my chapter at the American University of Sharjah came to an end by earning my undergraduate degree, but also by being selected as the Fall 2019 Commencement speaker.

 

Thesis: Contemporary Arabic Literature and Clashing Femininities

 

Abstract:

This literary investigation is interested in the concept of the feminine, but does not place it in opposition to masculinity. Rather, it outlines how femininity is multi-faceted resulting in tensions between contrasting feminine identities. There has been ample acknowledgement of patriarchy’s impact on gender assumptions, with little recognition of how matriarchy can impose and perpetuate constraining ideals about femininity. The exploration is complicated further by placing it in context of contemporary Arabic Literature and analyzing how Arabic cultural backdrops complicate the relationship between different variations of the feminine. The discussion focuses on three primary identities: the muse, the wife/mother and the pariah. The paper tracks these dichotomies across three literary texts, and carries out a literary criticism of each, by conducting close readings of relevant passages and excerpt and integrating frameworks set out by theorists like Judith Butler, R.W Connell, and psychoanalysis to concretizes findings. The investigation concludes how Arab cultural teachings and tradition widens the chasm between matriarchal approved feminine identities and the pariah, critiquing the latter and threatening to constrain femininity to just one definition.

Keywords: femininity; pariah; matriarchy; culture; domesticity

When we talk about feminism, we are almost always talking about patriarchy because of the rigid dichotomy between those categories. Patriarchy plays a fundamental role in oppressing women within the societal domain. However, it is crucial to acknowledge there is another facet to feminism, one concerned with matriarchy and how matriarchal forces can perpetuate patriarchal values and in turn, facilitate the sustenance of a male-centric societal system.