Saturday, January 24, 2015

Critical Writing on Ismat Chugtai's Lihaf

English Translation by M.Asaduddin

In this short story, the author dwells upon the social depicts drawn on the independence of women in the pre-partitioned subcontinent. It emphasizes on the earlier Muslim society when women were deprived of their degree of freedom. In the era where women had no right to express their opinion or to have an opinion of their own, in the era where a woman's will was nothing but a question mark.  Here the question of negligence is raised of women in her marriage life. The story triggers toward women identity; influencing the conscious of the society as it reveals the dimensions of life behind the veil of a woman of those times.


Here the author narrates the story of Begum Jaan who is married to a much older Nawab. Nawab and Begum Jaan are two persons totally opposite from each other including in their classes. Their marriage was merely a profitable business deal as Nawab was very rich belonging to a feudal family and Begum Jaan was not quite well-off belonging to a lower-class family. They both were poles apart in their differences, however married to each other proposed by their families. In spite of their odd age difference, Begum Jaan was married by her family as an approving profitable option. This social norm was and even today is practiced in continuity in the society to a large extent.


The lack of independence given to women in marriage plays an important role in the story. Begum Jaan was not allowed to leave the house and was ordered to live a life of segregation and in complete isolation. She was not allowed to meet anyone. Begum Jaan’s presence was primarily as decorative furniture in the house. Whereas, the Nawab was free to indulge in his desires and mysterious hobbies. This also throws light on the issue of gender discrimination and the author also shows the dilemma of women under male domination that focuses onto women oppression. The author creates a patriarchal background in which the woman is suppressed by her husband which is still an unquestionable norm in the society. 


It is completely besieging how such inequality can lead a woman to utter isolation and depression. It is a sympathetic condition for the reader. Nawab was completely void to Begum Jaan’s presence as she had not existed to him. Begum Jaan was completely heartbroken and her pain and loneliness had known no human bounds. Her sexual desires were kept hidden in herself and there was no one to fulfill them. Even the romantic novels and sentimental poetry made her remind of her dejection by the Nawab. 

In their marriage, Nawab completely imprisoned Begum Jaan which was a society norm she had to comply with. Her existence was obscene to Nawab and she couldn't express any gratitude towards their marriage. Her marriage was profound to be a helpless ritual which she had to be in. 

Nawab was completely oblivious to his new bride‟s desires or rather he chose to ignore them. He lacks the imagination to realize the fact that his new bride Begum Jaan has confined to their marriage with certain hopes and desires. He failed to acknowledge the sexual expectation of his new bride. 

The rejection by her husband and the feeling of segregation and isolation in
Begum Jaan developed an intimate attraction between her and Rabbu. To her, Rabbu wasn‟t her slave; it was a more intimate relationship than the typical master-slave relationship. Her homosexual desires were boundless to such extents that she would not hesitate to molest a child while her „slave‟ was on leave. Begum Jaan’s lesbian relationship with Rabbu was due to the rejection of her sexual desires by Nawab. Had her sexual desires been satisfied with Nawab, the lesbian encounter was not to been occurred. This is how the author wants us to understand the idea on deviant sexuality. 

Lihaf needs to be evaluated under the intertwined themes of marriage, suppression of women and neglect of female sexuality and desires. The author emphasizes on feminist perspective raising important questions on marriage and its importance being limited to an economic and social venture.

To me the story is not only about lesbianism. Chugtai wrote this short story in a very bold manner and is very critical about the condition of women in society. She examines the plight of women as they are denied their civil rights, autonomy, and self determination and hence become the victims of socio-cultural injustice. To conclude, this story is merely related to the expression of female psychological desires. The emotional breakdown and neurotic behavior of Begum Jan shows the desperation of women who are deprived of their sexual desires. 

An unsatisfied married woman is vulnerable to her sexual desires and the author wants the reader to understand the female psyche that‟s unique in nature. Women have extreme sexual desires and the author wants to create an idea on the issue of homoerotic desire between women that is wholly unspoken in the society. The author remises as she sympathizes with the sexual repression of women in a middle-class deceitful society. The story ends up horrifically reinforcing on negative stereotypes about lesbianism. The story is ultimately a sad one about loneliness and sexual repression about a woman‟s quest exploring and understanding the sufferings of married life. 

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