Traversing the Erotopolitic: A Feminist Perspective on Sabyn Javeri’s Nobody Killed Her and Hijabistan
Keywords:
biopolitics, erotopolitics, gender studies, political liberation, sexual transgressionAbstract
This article attempts to explore the use of biopolitics by Sabyn Javeri’s female characters in Nobody Killed Her and Hijabistan to challenge the structures of power depicted in the works. Sabyn Javeri’s characters are shown to be engaged in various attempts to disrupt the heteronormative structures of authority while making use of their body as a locus of power struggle. The article highlights how these characters perform different acts that may be defined as transgressive to restructure the societies they exist in. In the case of certain women characters, the treatment of the body as a site of political wrangling entails the use of sexually subversive practices to resist the patriarchal societies they inhabit. This research argues that the politically and economically marginalized women characters are shown to be involved in politics of the body, including erotopolitics, to question the traditional ways of being in the patriarchal societies. While focusing on the discussion of body politics, this research attempts to analyse the usefulness of employing the body in order to challenge the institutions of authority in the selected texts. It also discusses the potential setbacks of using the body as a site of political drama since it runs the risk of promoting the persecution of the already marginalized female individuals. This research focuses on acts of resistance against institutional apparatuses as well as the repressive practices by institutionalised authority that come into play as a result of these actions.
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