SEEKING FREEDOM BEYOND PATRIARCHY: A HUMANIST STUDY OF BEYOND THE CAYENNE WALL BY SHAILA ABDULLAH

Abstract

The current study examines collection of short stories Beyond the Cayenne Wall (2005) by Shaila Abdullah, focusing on the female protagonists. The conceptual framework of the study is based on the “humanist approach” by Susan Moller Okin’s “Justice, Gender, and the Family” (1989) to analyze the protagonists' struggle to reclaim their humanist identity, beyond gender discrimination. The qualitative analysis of the short stories investigates how female characters navigate their traditional roles and set the standards of justice based on the “equality of opportunity” in society by liberating them from chains of patriarchy. The objectives of the current study are to examine female resistance against traditional gender roles, to examine how female characters construct their new identities, and to identify the depiction of the patriarchal constraints in the text and assess how they impact the female characters' lives and decisions. The findings offered significant information for reaching the desired conclusion about the research issues. In this regard, Okin’s humanist approach “personal is political” seeks to explore that the personal experiences of female protagonists particularly related to gender and familial roles, are deeply intertwined with the political structures and societal norms.