Re-Orientalism and Talibanization: A Critical Feminist Reading of Selected Fictions of Afghan Diaspora

Abstract

This study examines how A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi serve as re-orientalist texts. Islamophobia under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has recently gained currency in the international media. However, the self-proclaimed Islamic government of Afghanistan under the Taliban’s regime is hailed as well as condemned among the Afghan people. The Occident-backed English fiction writing diaspora looks at Afghanistan with the Western lens following suit of the Western media and thus re-Orientalize representing the version of Islam under the Taliban regime as terrorizing, violent, unwanted, rejected, and appalling, particularly for Afghan women. The study observes how both the West and Afghan-American writers share the same view about the male-dominated Afghan society. The research is qualitative as data has been analyzed through content analysis techniques. Lisa Lou and Om Prakash Dwivedi’s theory of Re-orientalism and Indian Writers in English is used as the theoretical framework of the study. Thus building upon Lou and Dwivedi’s theory, the study unveils similar writing behavior patterns of Indians, as well as the Afghan diaspora, once moved to the West. The study will provide deep insight for future scholars to view fictional works of the Afghan-American diaspora more critically.