Women’s Resistance against Double Colonization in Sahgal’s Mistaken Identity

Abstract

In Mistaken Identity, Sahgal presents the general predicaments of women under colonial patriarchy through the portrayed of Indian women. Since the colonized women suffer double colonization—political and gender colonizations, the patriarchal social norms that undermine women are represented as the main causes of women’s marginality. Unless these dominating and gender-unequal norms of traditional societies are changed, women will not get equal position and opportunities in their own societies. Moreover the imperial culture that dominates both men and women of colonized nations and disregards their rights for freedom can only be subverted by means of solidarity of local men and women. For this solidarity to take place, local men should respect women’s rights and freedom and provide equal opportunity to them, welcoming all sorts of positive changes to counter the dominating, conservative, and traditional patriarchal norms. Sahgal implies that through the empowerment of both men and women only imperial domination can be resisted and before that, women should realize their potential and empower themselves to resist the dominations that marginalize their identity. In the novel, different women characters seek to subvert the colonial regime and local patriarchy supported by it in order to attain freedom and happiness in their lives. Sahgal has realized the undermining of female potentials by males, whether in the patriarchal or colonial contact. The women of the colonized nations suffer from double subjugation. The male-domination is highly present in every traditional patriarchal society. In the novel too, the women characters are doubly marginalized. Besides being treated as inferior by the males of their own society, they are treated inferior as colonized subjects by colonizers. The colonizers too treat them inferior to colonized males.