Muslim Females' Resistance to Their Culture: A Study of Mumtaz Nawaz Shah's The Heart Divided

Abstract

Mumtaz Shah Nawaz's The Heart Divided is an effort to depict how Muslim women attempt to assert their identity and are able to resist the patriarchal domination though they are being segregated in Zenanah and are restricted within their private world.Society gives negative attributes to female by taking help of religion: the male suppresses the females. Unless patriarchal domination and gender-bias of societies are changed, women will not get equal position and opportunities in their own societies. Mumtaz Shah Nawaz opines that men should respect women's existence and provide equal opportunity to them, welcoming all sorts of positive changes in the dominating conservative and traditional patriarchal society. Women should realize their potentiality and empower themselves to resist the dominations that cause their identity crisis. If women want to get freedom from conservative social boundary, they want to revolt or dare to change the rigid norms and values existing in the society. In The Heart Divided, Mumtaz Shah portrays the character Zohra who never regrets for her decision. She does not follow the rigid types of norms and values of the Muslim society. She leads Muslim society in proper way. She changes her family members, society or those rigid norms and values of the Muslim society.