INTERPLAY OF GENDER, POWER DYNAMICS, AND RESISTANCE IN SA’ADAT HASAN MANTO’S HUMILIATION AND SABYN JAVERI’S RADHA: A COMPARATIVE FEMINIST ANALYSIS

Abstract

The current study aims to conduct a comparative feminist analysis of "Humiliation" and "Radha," written by Sa'adat Hasan Manto and Sabyn Javeri, respectively. Although set in different cultural contexts and periods, the two works explore female agency and the power dynamics within patriarchal society. This study examines how Manto and Javeri critique patriarchal structures and female oppression through feminism, drawing on de Beauvoir's (1949) concept of The Other, Butler's (1990) sexual agency, and Hooks' (2000) idea of resistance. Both stories depict and critique how patriarchy shapes women's destinies as inferior counterparts through violence and exploitation. The experiences of power, victimization, and the ultimate resistance of the female characters in both stories differ over time; however, these experiences are rooted in the same oppressive patriarchal systems that seek to control and define them. Both Sa'adat Hasan Manto and Sabyn Javeri, as committed feminist writers, offer keen insights into the gendered and complex structures of society, making their respective stories significant texts for feminist literary analysis.