The Myth of Womanhood and the Politics of Otherness: A Feminist Critique of No Honor and Someone Like Her

Abstract

Gender is an inevitable part of our daily life that is not biological but rather socially and culturally constructed. Simone de Beauvoir states, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman” (Beauvoir, p.15, 1949). The current study aimed to examine the portrayal of the myth of womanhood and otherness in Pakistani fictional literature, with a focus on Khan’s No Honor (2021) and Someone Like Her (2023). Beauvoir’s theory of gender construction is used. The study has explored how the selected novels depict the secondary status of women and gendered expectations such as submissiveness, purity, subservience, and domesticity within a patriarchal society in the Pakistani context. A qualitative research method is adopted. Through a close reading of the texts, the research has analyzed how the constructed ideologies regarding the female gender, such as myths of womanhood and the concept of otherness, shape women’s lives. It is found that Pakistani society is a patriarchal society where women are positioned as an inessential other and restricted to certain roles that deprive them of agency. Under the burden of these expectations, women live a marginalized and suppressed life. The analysis broadens the existing knowledge of the feminist critique of gender stereotypes in South Asian literature. Moreover, it demonstrates how Pakistani contemporary fiction reframes new perspectives on gender roles with time. This research asserts that Pakistani society is saturated with masculine privileges. In the future, scholars can extend this analysis to women’s writing. A comparative analysis would reveal whether male and female authors view gender issues differently in their narratives.