A Feminist Existential Study of Othering in Mastur’s The Women’s Courtyard

Abstract

Khadija Mastur’s The Women’s Courtyard (2018) presents a compelling feminist existentialist narrative that encapsulates the struggles of women amid the socio-political turmoil of pre-Partition India. This study employs a dual theoretical framework of feminist existentialism and postcolonial feminism to examine the female characters’ struggle against oppression within both patriarchal and colonial structures. Drawing from Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, (1949) concept of the Other, the analysis explores the ways through which women are denied autonomy and relegated to subordinate roles. Tehmina’s tragic suicide exemplifies the existential crisis faced by women who resist imposed gender norms but find no space for true agency, while Aliya  and Chammi’s experiences highlight the constrained mobility and systemic limitations women come across in patriarchal societies. In contrast, Aliya ’s mother, grandmother and Kusum internalize patriarchal oppression, embodying the passive, silenced woman who has accepted her imposed identity. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s (1988) notion of double colonization and epistemic violence reveal an exploitative system in which women experience oppression at the intersection of colonial rule and indigenous patriarchy. The novel depicts patriarchy’s role in obstructing women’s struggles for identity, with male figures like Aliya’s father, Safdar, Chammi’s husband and Jameel representing societal barriers. The nationalist movement, while promising liberation, reproduces gender hierarchies that sustain women's subjugation. The novel, therefore, serves as a critique of both colonial and nationalist discourses, illustrating that female agency remains constrained by intersecting layers of power. While The Women’s Courtyard (2018) portrays female resilience through characters like Chammi and Aliya , it also underscores the structural barriers that prevent complete emancipation. This paper contributes to ongoing discussions in feminist literary criticism and postcolonial studies by revealing the intersectionality of gender, colonial histories, and social hierarchies in South Asian literature. It captures the existential and postcolonial feminist dilemma of women caught between tradition and autonomy, illustrating that without systemic change, women remain defined by androcratic structures that limit their agency and voice.