Does Malala Need Saving? Understanding Western Idea of Rescue and Importance of Islamic Feminism in Malala Yousafzai’s Autobiography

Shabnur Parveen

Vol-6,Issue-6,November - December 2021

Author: Shabnur Parveen

Keywords: Empowerment, Islamic Feminism, Third World Women, Western Media.

Abstract: My paper entitled “Does Malala Need Saving? Understanding Western Idea of Rescue and Importance of Islamic Feminism in Malala’s Yousafzai’s Autobiography” endeavours to understand a very specific focus to trace the problematic identity of Muslim women in any South-Asian Muslim society and try to project how an individual Muslim woman locates herself in the male-dominated Muslim society. The purpose of this research is to argue how women are oppressed and humiliated in the name of religion. Here Malala is reacting against the falsity of society by writing their life narratives. The protagonists are believers of Islam and they are not speaking against Islam and the Quran, rather they are raising their voice against how the patriarchal society is misrepresenting the Quranic verses and using them against the women of the society. On the other side, whenever the women of Third World country are divulging their story, the West is immediately taking the responsibility to promote Muslim women’s position in the Muslim world, as a victim. Hence they are suffering from double oppression. On one hand, they are condemned by their society for raising voice against existing norms of the society, and on the other hand, they fall under the tendency of the West to represent the backwardness of the Muslim country. So, in this paper, I have tried to highlight the journey of the writer, how they are fighting against these oppressions and creating their own individual identity.

Article Info: Received: 19 Nov 2021; Received in revised form: 11 Dec 2021; Accepted: 20 Dec 2021; Available online: 31 Dec 2021

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.66.48