Muslim women and patriarchy: Struggles and resistance in the short stories of Randa Jarrar and Shaila Abdullah
Keywords:
intersectionality, muslim women, patriarchy, resistanceAbstract
This study discusses how the Muslim female main characters in Randa Jarrar’s short stories, “Accidental Transients and The Life, Loves”, and “Adventures of Zelwa the Halfie” (2016), and Shaila Abdullah’s “Amulet for the Caged Dove” and “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust” (2005), experience the struggles with patriarchal constraints. Moreover, this study examines how the Muslim female main characters resist the very patriarchal system that confines them. This study aims to reveal how patriarchy adversely impacts Muslim women’s lives, how their patriarchal experiences are shaped, and their agency in liberating themselves. A descriptive qualitative method was employed using comprehensive textual analyses to examine the selected issues. This study employs several feminist theories, including Sylvia Walby’s theory of Patriarchy, to explore how the Muslim female main characters’ struggles are presented, and Kimberlé Crenshaw's theory of Intersectionality to investigate how their gender intersects with their diverse social identities. In addition, James Scott’s theory of Resistance is employed to examine how the Muslim female main characters resist patriarchy. The findings show that there is a private form of patriarchy perpetuated by both men and women within the short stories. Furthermore, patriarchal experiences occur due to the interaction between gender and cultural background, and the Muslim female main characters’ resistance is illustrated through positive self-affirmations, self-perceptions, and eventually leaving the patriarchal environment. As a result, this study contributes to raising awareness of the struggles that Muslim women must face due to patriarchy and promotes Muslim women’s empowerment in overcoming its adverse impact through resistance.References
Abdullah, S. (2005). Beyond the Cayenne wall: Collection of short stories. iUniverse.
Akhter, S., Shah, S., & Nazir, S. (2023). Exploitation of women in Arab patriarchal society in Saadawi’s God Dies by the Nile: Marxist feminist analysis. Annals of Human and Social Sciences, 4(1), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.35484/ahss.2023(4-I)10
Apriliani, R. D., Hartati, D., & Adham, M. J. I. (2022). Resistansi tokoh-tokoh dalam novel Sebuah Lagu untuk Tuhan karya Agnes Davonar. Fair Value: Jurnal Ilmiah Akuntansi Dan Keuangan, 5(1), 551–559. https://doi.org/10.32670/fairvalue.v5i1.2261
Azhar, S. A., & Batool, H. (2025). Beyond the text: Feminist psychoanalysis and cognitive poetics analysis of Shaila Abullah’s Amulet for the Caged Dove. Tahreer-Journal of Languages and Literature, 3(1), 1–24. https://assal.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/01Eng-Beyond-the-Text-Feminist-Psychoanalysis-and-Cognitive-Poetics-Analysis-of-Shaila-Abullah-updated.pdf
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
Devseshan, R. B. (2025). Fight against patriarchy; rethinking womens sexual and reproductive rights. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 9(2), 4259–4270. https://ideas.repec.org/a/bcp/journl/v9y2025issue-2p4259-4270.html
Djohar, H. (2024). Rewriting Islam decolonialism, justice, and contemporary muslimah literature. Ohio State University Press.
Djohar, H. I., & Adhania, R. F. (2022). Gender and animals in Elif Şafak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World novel. Sunan Kalijaga: International Journal of Islamic Civilization, 5(2), 151–183. https://doi.org/10.14421/skijic.v5i2.2387
Djohar, H. I., Budiantari, G. R., Ni’mah, N., & Farezi, M. R. (2023). “My Body is not Mine”: Woman’s oppression portrayed in Layla AlAmmar’s The Pact We Made. ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 6(1), 180–185. https://doi.org/10.34050/elsjish.v6i1.24810
Djohar, H., & Komalasari, L. (2024). Color symbolism and resistance in Shaila Abdullah’s Saffron Dreams. Bahasa Dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, Dan Pengajarannya, 52(1), 129–145. https://doi.org/10.17977/um015v52i12024p129
Fatima, D. M. S. (2025). Beyond the veil: Reimagining Muslim women’s identities in the Global South. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 10(3). https://ijels.com/detail/beyond-the-veil-reimagining-muslim-women-s-identities-in-the-global-south/
Fikri, M. F. Z., Saryono, D., Syahri, M., & Ghifari, M. A. M. (2025). Teori resistansi James C. Scott sebagai kajian representasi sastra. Multatuli: Jurnal Bahasa Sastra Indonesia, 1(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.333367/multatuli.v1i1.6200
Fitria, S., Hidayah, L. N., Arrizqina, M. J., & Rahmadania, N. D. (2023). Doubleness identity of diaspora in Randa Jarrar’s Him, Me, Muhammad Ali. Journal Basis, 10(1), 57–66. https://doi.org/10.33884/basisupb.v10i1.7220
Gruenbaum, E., Earp, B. D., & Shweder, R. A. (2023). Reconsidering the role of patriarchy in upholding female genital modifications: Analysis of contemporary and pre-industrial societies. International Journal of Impotence Research, 35(3), 202–211. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-022-00581-5
Gupta, M., Madabushi, J. S., & Gupta, N. (2023). Critical overview of patriarchy, its interferences with psychological development, and risks for mental health. Cureus, 15(6), e40216. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40216
Hajir, C. M. H., & Marsih, L. (2023). Women’s struggle against patriarchal practice as portrayed in Miriam Toews Women Talking. Proceeding of Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Linguistic, and Cultural Studies, 2(1), 494–503. https://doi.org/10.30996/uncollcs.v2i1.2489
Idrus, I. A., Anurlia, S., & Fadiyah, D. (2023). Analysis of the impact of patriarchal culture on the role of women in politics and governance. Jurnal Studi Ilmu Pemerintahan, 4(1), 1–12.
Jarrar, R. (2016). Him, me, Muhammad Ali. Sarabande Books.
Jeffery, P., & Qureshi, K. (2022). Muslim woman/Muslim women: Lived experiences beyond religion and gender in South Asia and its diasporas. Contemporary South Asia, 30(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2021.2021859
Kakal, T., Kok, M., & Jawad, M. (2023). “You are a child and this is not your business”: Decision-making on child marriage in Sindh, Pakistan. PLOS ONE, 18(9), e0266865. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266865
Karakurt, G., Ayluçtarhan, Z., Ergüner-Tekinalp, B., & Köse, Ö. (2022). Regaining courage to leave abusive relationships: Theoretical framework. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 50(2), 144–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926187.2021.1877208
Khan, D. W., & Arain, H. B. (2025). Exploring Islamic feminism: Challenged and opportunities for women's empowerment. Journal of Religion and Society, 3(01), 834–840. https://islamicreligious.com/index.php/Journal/article/view/222
Mansour, A. W., Mansur, V., Banat, S., & Banat, M. M. (2024). Balcony of disgrace: The intersection of patriarchy and honor in Arab Societies. World Journal of English Language, 14(4), 69. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v14n4p69
Rahma, H. (2023). The Implications of patriarchal culture toward gender discrimination in Anne with an E Movie Series. CaLLs (Journal of Culture, Arts, Literature, and Linguistics), 9(2), 275–294. https://doi.org/10.30872/calls.v9i2.12693
Rahman, M., & Anwar, N. (2022). Living between brackets: Public-private patriarchal violence and the mental state of women on both sides of Radcliffe line. Journal of Social Studies (JSS), 18(2), 279–290. https://doi.org/10.21831/jss.v18i2.49597
Sáez, G., Riemer, A. R., Klein, O., & Gervais, S. J. (2025). The evaluative process model of objectification: How men’s evaluations of patriarchal security and women’s fit with conventional beauty and sexuality norms interact to predict perpetration of sexually objectifying behaviors. Frontiers in Social Psychology, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsps.2024.1466577
Scott, J. C. (1985). Weapons of the weak: Everyday forms of peasant resistance. Yale University Press.
Setiyawan, D., Suyitno, & Sumarwati. (2021). Gender perspective in Ahmad Tohari’s novel: A feminist study approach to literature psychology and its applications on literature learning in high school. International Conference of Humanities and Social Science (ICHSS), 16–19. https://doi.org/10.1234/ichss.v1i1.2
Sibarani, S. P. M., Natsir, M., & M, F. (2020). The radical feminism of imperator Furiosa’s character in Mad Max Fury Road film (2015). Ilmu Budaya: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, Dan Budaya, 4(1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.30872/jbssb.v4i1.2655
Walby, S. (1990). Theorizing patriarchy. Basil Blackwell.
Zainab, S. (2024). Seeking freedom beyond patriarchy: A humanist study of Beyond the Cayenne Wall by Shaila Abdullah. Journal of Social Sciences Development, 3(3), 142–153. https://doi.org/10.53664/JSSD/03-03-2024-12-142-153
Zubair, S. (2022). Is women’s beauty used as a means to achieve certain ends?: Pakistani women’s perceptions of body objectification. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 23(1), 98-114–198. https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol23/iss1/10
