Women’s Objectification in Hanif’s Our Lady of Alice Bhatti and Thiango’s The Devil on the Cross: A Feminist Study

Abstract

This study looks into the problems related to the objectification of women in African and Pakistani fiction. The Devil on the Cross by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o and Our Lady of Alice Bhatti by Muhammad Hanif are the subjects of this inquiry. The objectification theory by Nussbaum and Langton is utilised in this study. Sexual objectification and self-objectification can be distinguished from one another in a major and distinct way. Concerning sexual abuse, women have issues in patriarchal societies. They suffer from other types of societal harassment. They adopt this attitude from the culture and behave in a way that is congruent with what is expected of them by patriarchal society. This study investigates both authors' socialist concerns to discover the idea of objectification. It demonstrates the position of women in both African and Pakistani societies. Additionally, it demonstrates how harsh patriarchal society is. By examining the difficulties in this area, the current study exposes all the factors that contribute to the marginalisation and discrimination of women. The aim of the study is to investigate how objectified women are treated in these novels. The study goals are to examine how Christians in general and lower-class women in particular, Alice Bhatti and Warinnga, are devalued in society. Qualitative research is employed to examine these problems. The study comes to the conclusion that Alice Bhatti and Warinnga are socially marginalised due to their gender, caste, and religion. They are both portrayed as weak, pathetic creatures with no sense of identity.