Construction of Gender Identity in Ayan Hirsi Ali's Nomad: A Personal Journey through Clash of Civilizations

Abstract

This research work attempts to study Ayan Hirsi Ali’s Nomad: A Personal Journey through Clash of Civilization from the perspective of globalization and examines the fixity of the identity of female in Islamic society and fleeting of the same identity in the west in the age of science and technology. In this study, Appadurai’s and Featherstone’s concept of globalization has been utilized for analysis. In so doing, I have used Butler's idea of performativity, Foucault’s ideas of discourse and Althusser's idea of "subjectivity," and "ideology." The study argues that "lack of movement" creates fixity in identity resulting in domination, suppression, and hierarchy but "nomadic movement" creates fluid identity resulting in freedom, equality, and sense of respect. For instance, in Africa the protagonist suffered a lot but in Holland she was happy. The memoir is the record of pain, sufferings, and condition of Muslim women in their culture. In short, this memoir, at large, brings the plight of voiceless and identityless women into visibility talking about their real condition from the real ground.