Exploration of Cultural and Gender Trauma in Taslima Nasrin's Lajja

Abstract

This present research focuses on the exploration of cultural and gender trauma in Taslima Nasrin's Lajja. It depicts the experiences of pathetic, depressed, helpless and traumatic Hindu females in Bangladesh after the incident of destruction of Babri Masjid in India on 6 December1992. The girl Maya is raped by Muslim boys only being the Hindu female. In this regard, the novel exposes how the Hindu females have to face the cultural and psychological torture in their own motherland being distinct religious background and identity. It shows the antagonistic relationship between Hindus and Muslims. Therefore, revealing out the issue of torture against the Hindu females in particular and Hindus in general in Bangladesh that creates cultural and gender trauma to the many characters throughout the novel is the main significance of the study. In order to analyze the text, gender and cultural trauma by Kali Tal, Crauth , Dominick LaCapra etc has been used as the theoretical tool in this research. By using the gender and cultural traumatic theory, the researcher explores the message that the psychological and cultural torture given to somebody only for having different sex and religion is in human, brutal and wild act.