Can Women Speak? A Spivakian Study of Deborah Elis’s The Bread Winner

Abstract

This study attempts to explore voiceless and voiced struggle of the protagonist, Parvana, in   Taliban dominated society depicted in Deborah Ellis, The Bread Winner. The Taliban in the selected novel, have suppressed the women, not allowing them freedom of movement and expression and the right to education. Parvana, the protagonist, remains voiceless against the Taliban’s suppression of women, however, later on, challenging their rules, becomes voiced in her struggle. The methodology applied in the work is qualitative, wherein, textual analysis of the novel is made. The theoretical framework in the work is Spivakian feminism, which highlights the suppression and oppression of the protagonist in the selected novel. The findings of the work are that Parvana, living in the repressive society, struggles against the Taliban’s suppression. She becomes voiced and like women in other society, she can have the courage to make decisions to run her life. The results show that Afghanistan remained a repressive state under the Taliban regime in terms of suppression of women.