REFLECTION OF WOMEN’S OPPRESSION IN THE WRITINGS OF QURUT-UL-AIN HAIDER: A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This study analyzed the concept of women’s status and oppression as depicted in the writings of one of the famous fiction writers in Urdu literature named Qurat-ul-Ain Haider. It was a qualitative research study and was based on a sociological analysis of a selected set of stories of the writer. Four stories were chosen from Qurat-ul-Ain Haider’s writings for content analysis. This study reflected the socio-cultural values regarding status of women in the Indian Subcontinent. It facilitated in understanding women’s oppression specifically with reference to the culture in the then Subcontinent. The concept of women’s oppression in the specific context of the literature emerged in the form of low status of women, gender oppression, patriarchal cultural values, and social injustice towards women. The writings of Quratul-Ain-Haider are to date relevant in understanding of the status and subordination of women in South Asia and can serve as a contribution to Feminist Sociology within a specific cultural context.