Muslim Women�s Writing from Across South and Southeast Asia

This essential collection examines South and Southeast Asian Muslim women’s writing and the ways they navigate cultural, political, and controversial boundaries. Providing a global, contemporary collection of essays, this volume uses varied methods of analysis and methodology, including: • Contemporary forms of expression, such as memoir, oral accounts, romance novels, poetry, and social media; • Inclusion of both recognized and lesser-known Muslim authors; • Division by theme to shed light on geographical and transnational concerns; and • Regional focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Muslim Women’s Writing from across South and Southeast Asia will deliver crucial scholarship for all readers interested in the varied perspectives and comparisons of Southern Asian writing, enabling both students and scholars alike to become better acquainted with the burgeoning field of Muslim women's writing. This timely and challenging volume aims to give voice to the creative women who are frequently overlooked and unheard. This essential collection examines South and Southeast Asian Muslim women’s writing and the ways they navigate cultural, political, and controversial boundaries. Providing a global, contemporary collection of essays, this volume uses varied methods of analysis and methodology, including Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 List of Contributors 13 Introduction 22 India 28 1. From Ismat Chugtai to Samina Ali and Monica Ali: Women’s Communities, Contexts, and Conflicts 30 2. “Based on Love and Truth”: Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Theological Negotiations in Sultana’s Dream 44 Kashmir 54 3. Critique of Exclusionary Women’s Nationalism in Kashmir, and Reconceptualizing the Relationship Between State and Non-State Women Actors 56 4. Conflict and Women in Kashmir: A Study of Ather Zia’s Poetry 66 5. Songs and Slogans of Protest: Exploring Kashmiri Women’s Resistance(s) to the Indian State 78 Pakistan and Afghanistan 92 6. The Trade of Giving Up Being a Woman: A Transnational Antiracist Reading of Nadia Hashimi’s The Pearl That Broke Its Shell 94 7. Women, Violence, and Conflict: A Study of Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire 105 8. Poetics of Resistance by the Muslim Woman 118 9. The Empowerment of Women in the Controversial Landscape of Pakistan in The Upstairs Wife 130 Bangladesh and Sri Lanka 144 10. A Mother in a War: Jahanara Imam’s Ekattorer Dinguli 146 11. Encountering the “Pseudo Gatekeepers”: Islamism and Secularism in Identity Construction of Bangladeshi Women in Fiction 160 12. Writing Rights: Women and Community in Sharmila Seyyid’s Ummath 173 Indonesia and Malaysia 186 13. Being Religious, Cool, and Global in the Eyes of Indonesian Muslim Women Writers: Negotiating Religion and Popular Lifestyle in Islamic Pop Novels 188 14. Reclaiming Islamic Religious Interpretations through Women’s Experience: Life, Activism, and Authorship of Three Indonesian Muslim Feminists 200 15. Malaysian Muslim Women’s Writing: A History of Colonization, Decolonization, and Globalization 217 16. Negotiating Conflicts amongst Muslim Female Characters in Malay Romance Novels: A Narratological Perspective 232 Burma, Brunei, and the Philippines 244 17. Agency of Rohingya Muslim Women Survivors of Genocide in Myanmar 246 18. Beyond Intractability: Muslim Women Negotiating Identities in Brunei Darussalam 261 19. Reading Her Face: Affect Theory in Narratorial Representation in Malaka Gharib’s Graphic Novel I Was Their American Dream 273 Comparative Perspectives 284 20. Partition Historiographies in Qurratulain Hyder’s River of Fire (India) and Radwa Ashour’s The Woman from Tantoura (Palestine): Assertion vs. Subalterity 286 21. Muslim Women Re-membering the Nation, Writing Their Transnational Selves in Diasporic Memoirs: Sara Suleri’s Meatless Days and Leila Ahmed’s A Border Passage From Cairo to America—A Woman’s Journey 297 22. Women’s Narratives and the Politics of the Personal in Attia Hosain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column and Siti Rukiah’s The Fall and the Heart 312 Index 325 Introduction; 1 From Ismat Chugtai to Samina Ali and Monica Ali; 2 “Based on Love and Truth”; "3 Critique of Exclusionary Women’s Nationalism in Kashmir,and Reconceptualizing the Relationship Between State and Non-State Women Actors"; 4 Conflict and Women in Kashmir; 5 Songs and Slogans of Protest; 6 The Trade of Giving Up Being a Woman; "7 Women,Violence,and Conflict"; 8 Poetics of Resistance by the Muslim Woman; 9 The Empowerment of Women in the Controversial Landscape of Pakistan in The Upstairs Wife; 10 A Mother in a War; 11 Encountering the “Pseudo Gatekeepers”; 12 Writing Rights; "13 Being Religious,Cool,and Global in the Eyes of Indonesian Muslim Women Writers"; 14 Reclaiming Islamic Religious Interpretations through Women’s Experience; 15 Malaysian Muslim Women’s Writing; 16 Negotiating Conflicts amongst Muslim Female Characters in Malay Romance Novels; 17 Agency of Rohingya Muslim Women Survivors of Genocide in Myanmar; 18 Beyond Intractability; 19 Reading Her Face; 20 Partition Historiographies in Qurratulain Hyder’s River of Fire (India) and Radwa Ashour’s The Woman from Tantoura (Palestine): Assertion vs. Subalterity; "21 Muslim Women Re-membering the Nation,Writing Their Transnational Selves in Diasporic Memoirs"; 22 Women’s Narratives and the Politics of the Personal in Attia Hosain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column and Siti Rukiah’s The Fall and the Heart Introduction,1 From Ismat Chugtai to Samina Ali and Monica Ali,2 “Based on Love and Truth”,3 Critique of Exclusionary Women’s Nationalism in Kashmir, and Reconceptualizing the Relationship Between State and Non-State Women Actors,4 Conflict and Women in Kashmir,5 Songs and Slogans of Protest,6 The Trade of Giving Up Being a Woman,7 Women, Violence, and Conflict,8 Poetics of Resistance by the Muslim Woman,9 The Empowerment of Women in the Controversial Landscape of Pakistan in The Upstairs Wife,10 A Mother in a War,11 Encountering the “Pseudo Gatekeepers”,12 Writing Rights,13 Being Religious, Cool, and Global in the Eyes of Indonesian Muslim Women Writers,14 Reclaiming Islamic Religious Interpretations through Women’s Experience,15 Malaysian Muslim Women’s Writing,16 Negotiating Conflicts amongst Muslim Female Characters in Malay Romance Novels,17 Agency of Rohingya Muslim Women Survivors of Genocide in Myanmar,18 Beyond Intractability,19 Reading Her Face,20 Partition Historiographies in Qurratulain Hyder’s River of Fire (India) and Radwa Ashour’s The Woman from Tantoura (Palestine): Assertion vs. Subalterity,21 Muslim Women Re-membering the Nation, Writing Their Transnational Selves in Diasporic Memoirs,22 Women’s Narratives and the Politics of the Personal in Attia Hosain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column and Siti Rukiah’s The Fall and the Heart "This essential collection examines South and Southeastern Asian Muslim women's writing and the ways they navigate cultural, political, and controversial boundaries. Providing a global, contemporary collection of essays, this volume uses varied methods of analysis and methodology, including: Contemporary forms of expression, such as memoir, oral accounts, romance novels, poetry, and social media, inclusion of both recognized and lesser-known Muslim authors, division by theme to shed light on geographical and transnational concerns, regional focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Indonesia"-- Provided by publisher