ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the origin of Saudi women writers and the nearly three-decades lag between the debut of men and women in literary fiction. It discusses works such as Samira Khashugji’s Wadda’t Āmālī (Farewell to My Hopes) from 1958, and Abdel Qodous al-Ansari’s Al-Tau’amān (The Twins) from 1930. The chapter explores the three phases of Saudi women’s fiction, with special attention to the birth of Saudi feminism as a political and cultural movement. It also addresses the struggle for women’s rights, including the setbacks of the 1980s. Additionally, it scrutinizes the role of what Muslim feminists call ‘moral geographies’, examining how social norms have shaped women’s freedom and mobility. The chapter investigates the connection between veiling and silence, viewing the veil as metaphor for women’s shifting identity, agency and individuality. This metaphor also relates to women’s levels of resistance and their choice to reveal their true identity or hide behind a pseudonym, as the three authors discussed in Chapter 6 choose to do. Finally, it explores the contribution of the pioneer and social reformer, Samira Khashugji, particularly her work Beyond the Clouds from 1971.
