Rethinking Subalternity of the Rural Women of Sindh: A Historical Approach

Abstract

To re-conceptualize the process of construction of subordination in the lives of the women of rural Sindh, this paper analyses two contemporary stories (both fictional and real stories) of the women with reference to the history of Sindh. These stories represent the women as second sex who willingly or unwillingly subordinate to the male dominated society. To reconsider the power-politics working behind the women subordination, this study takes support from Guha and Spivakian subaltern-based theoretical argumentations as a framework. Following textual analysis, this study applies close reading method to analyse the issue of subalternity. Finally, the paper finds gender, age, class, culture, and law as some eminent factors cause subalternity in the lives of the selected rural women of Sindh. This study further argues that the issue of subalternity is constructed/developed due to assimilation, domestic colonialism, and baseless power-structure in rural areas of Sindh.