Question

Discuss chugtai's 'Lihaaf as a feminist text.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Ismat Chughtai is considered “A Feminist Literary Icon” (Sengupta), and The Lihaaf is regarded as one of her finest works. The Story is the portrayal of a patriarchal society in all its glory personified by a 'Begum' whose inherent feelings and desires are covered by a 'lihaaf'.

Answer 2

Answer:

Ismat Chughtai is considered "a feminist literary icon" (Sengupta) and The Lihaaf is considered one of her finest works. The story is the portrayal of a patriarchal society in all its glory, embodied by a 'Begum' whose inner feelings and desires are covered by a 'Lihaaf'.

Explanation:

Ismat began writing at a time when South Asian women were still segregated and their voices suppressed,” writes Farhat Bano in her dissertation, The Emergence of Feminist Consciousness among Muslim Women in the Case of Aligarh. Perhaps this explains the kind of controversy Chughtai had to bring to court over the story. Similar to her other works, Chughtai in Lihaaf wrote unabashedly about, and thereby even acknowledged, female desires and needs.

Abandoned by her husband, Chughtai's protagonist Begum Jan takes charge of her life, navigating the shackles of the patriarchal system to express and satiate her sexual urges. But Chughtai lays a lihaaf, or quilt of vagueness and euphemism, over her writing as she explores the homoerotic theme in her story. Nothing is ever said aloud, and the trick of using a child narrator and borrowing her lexicon to tell the story serves Chughtai's purpose well.

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