ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how veiled and anonymous women are using newfound freedom to dismantle barriers, reclaim their agency and challenge their oppression. Beyond their provocative narratives and explicit language, it aims to embrace their differences to reveal common aspects of identity and resistance discourses within their texts. The chapter argues that their transgressive and explicit language establishes certain patterns and themes. For example, Saba al-Herz’s Al-Aḳhrūn (The Others) combines the themes of queerness and illness. The coexistence of epilepsy and homosexuality in a character can illustrate the complexity of navigating multiple marginalized identities. This can serve as a powerful metaphor for the struggles and societal pressures faced by women who deviate from heteronormative expectations. Warda Abdul Malik’s Al-Awba (The Return) challenges the male-centric system and its agents, including the religious police and a biased judiciary. Her writing is marked by shocking and explicit content that aims to embarrass the extremist religious sects, and shift the dynamic of gender power. In a similar vein, Taif al-Hallaj’s Al-Qaran al-Muqadas (The Sacred Marriage) employs the theme of prostitution, often serving as a lens to explore complex issues related to gender inequality, religion, power and societal norms. This approach draws the reader’s attention to the larger context of patriarchal societies’ exploitation of women.
