A Feminist Analysis of Tahira Naqvi's Love in an Election Year

A Feminist Analysis of Tahira Naqvi’s Love in an Election Year

The aim of this document is to analyze the short story “Love in an Election Year” written by Tahira Naqvi, a Pakistani writer of English fiction, with the feminist framework of literature. Feminist literary criticism attempts to analyze literary texts with special focus on what kind of sexist or patriarchal ideology is being portrayed or criticized. In the selected short story, there is the central female character named Shabo, who is a fifteen year old and the narrator of the story with the first person perspective. She tells the tale of her twenty-one year old cousin named Baji Sughra in the backdrop of the political situation of the country. The setting that the characters are situated in is a traditional Pakistani familial setting of the 1960’s.

Baji Sughra is a typical young female in a Pakistani family setup. She looks like “a sultry actress in an Indian film, like a model in a magazine ad for Pond’s Cold Cream” (Naqvi, 1997, p. 327). She has rosy cheeks, soft lips that are always pulled up in a smile and is she considered very beautiful by Shabo. All the patriarchal feminine qualities associated with a woman manifest in the character of Baji Sughra. From her outer appearance, to her manner and personality, she is what a Pakistani woman should be like according to the patriarchal society. She is talkative and expresses herself more in the presence of her female cousins, as Shabo recounts: “Within an hour of her arrival from Multan we were chattering without pause like two myna birds” (p. 326). Being compared to twittering birds is another way of suggesting that the two young girls are delicate, beautiful to look at and very feminine. The main subject of the story is the fact that Baji Sughra has fallen in love with a cousin named Javed. Thus, the outline of the perfect feminine heroine is complete. She is young, beautiful and in love. It is not mentioned what kind of education Baji Sughra has had or what activities she indulges in, other than daydreaming about Javed, writing love letters to him and making plans to have secret dates with him. She is constantly smiling and happy ever since the love affair began, and this gives her the air of a delicate, chirping songbird like the myna she is likened to. Her ultimate dream is to be married to Javed and live happily ever after like a fairytale princess; she tells Shabo “We’ll be married when Javed gets his degree. […] In two years” (p. 328). Therefore, she is seen in the patriarchal gender role that the society has outlined for her and fits the profile of a feminine girl completely.

Javed, the young man Baji Sughra hopes to marry, is defined first and foremost with the kind of education is having and how old he is. “If I had done my calculations correctly, he was three years older than she was, twenty-three. In his second year at the Engineering University in Lahore, he was one of our cleverest cousins, the one who showed the most promise, the elders had been heard to proclaim” (p. 328). The narrator Shabo adds to this profile a description of Javed’s looks. He is good-looking, fair-skinned, tall, and has a “thick, black moustache” which is the very defining feature of his masculinity. Shabo compares the couple to the couples seen in films during that time i.e. Nargis and Raj Kapoor, Madhubala and Dilip Kumar. Therefore, Javed is the handsome prince who has been casted in the role of the hero likened to one in any Pakistani romantic film, meant to sweep the girl off her feet and live happily ever after. He is in his typical masculine gender role, which is laid out for him by the patriarchal Pakistani society. Shabo immediately imagines Baji Sughra in the traditional Pakistani role of a “bashful bride […] weighted down with heavy gold jewelry, swathed and veiled in lustrous red brocade and garlands of roses and chumbeli” (p. 329). Baji Sughra is of marriageable age, and in accordance with the traditions of the Pakistani patriarchal society, her only role is to be married so that she may start her life as a wife and later as a mother. In those days it was unimaginable for a woman to aspire for a career or higher education, and so the story fails to mention academic achievements of any of the female characters; in a patriarchal society such things are not important for a woman. Baji Sughra is often shown tearful especially in matters regarding her love, and she is even compared to a wounded animal when requesting Shabo to keep her secret. This makes her seem defenseless, dependent and shy, the qualities normally associated with a woman. Adjectives like coy, blushing and bashful are used to describe Baji Sughra throughout the story.

The one thing that deviates from the usual profile of a traditional Pakistani girl is the fact that Baji Sughra is in love and having a clandestine affair with her beloved. This would be considered a rebellious behavior, and as the story progresses, we see that Baji Sughra makes vocal attempts to rebel against the decisions of her parents regarding marriage, but fails to make a change. Shabo believes Baji Sughra is bold and is awed by her courage; she is also impressed by Baji Sughra’s intelligence and believes that she is a smart girl. Sughra has her own opinions regarding the political situation in the country, and she displays knowledge whenever she speaks on the matter. However this characteristic of hers is not brought to the front and her character is overtaken by the events of her love life. Perhaps this is because patriarchy does not allow her to be very vocal about matters such as politics and current affairs, which should be left to the elders and male members of the house.

Shabo’s parents are seen in the traditional patriarchal roles as well. Shabo’s father, whom she calls ‘Abba’, comes back from work and engages in the physical activity of ‘getting his hands dirty’ while stringing up the national flags and streamers with the children. On the other hand, Shabo’s mother does not help out but remains concerned about the mess being made, and the possibility that the children might come to supper without washing their hands properly. Being a woman and a mother, she is worrying about little things, and concerned about the health and cleanliness of the children. This is in accordance with the patriarchal notion that women are nurturing, caring and the duties of childcare solely rest on them. The activity of cooking is also associated with females, and so it is ‘Aunty A’ who makes the thick, granular carrot halwa. The male characters are seen smoking cigarettes, such as Javed and Cousin Hashim or using hukkah like Dadajan (grandfather). These are masculine activities which are solely reserved for men, and banned for women. The Philips radio used to listen to the election results is ‘Dadajan’s radio’, thus hinting towards the fact that all property is owned by men. When the politician that Shabo’s whole family supports i.e. Fatima Jinnah loses against Ayub Khan, the men show aggressiveness while the females remain rather passive and only express themselves through words, if at all. It is Dadajan who grunts and rummages through things, curses and calls names while Dadima simply ‘mutters’ her displeasure. Although Cousin Hashim is a no-good failure who gets scolded for having achieved nothing in his academic life, he still retains his masculinity by showing rage and desire for physical aggression. “Cousin Hashim was restrained with great difficulty by Allah Rakha as he threatened to go out and cuff the man who was attempting to break into two a large, cardboard lantern that had adorned the entrance of the little tea shop right next to our front door” (p. 336). Dadajan, the grandfather, is established as the authority of the house when Shabo confesses that no one can go against the wishes of Dadajan. He is the male owner of the house, and his command is considered the last word. Even Javed shows anger and aggression when Baji Sughra is married off to another man. This display of anger by all the male characters in the story is proof that they too are caught in the web of patriarchal roles that signify masculinity. Men are encouraged to be violent and display an aggressive behavior which is labeled as a true sign of manhood. It is clear what the power relationship between the males and females is. The males are dominant and the ones who hold the power in the household, while the females are compliant and submissive. All the characters in the story conform to the gender categories defined by the patriarchal ideology and seem to be satisfied in them.

The rebellion that Baji Sughra shows when her parents arrange her marriage to someone other than Javed, is overshadowed by her grief and dejection. Shabo notes: “She wore a sad look, and seeing her face so pale and her eyes wet with unshed tears, I thought how beautiful she was when saddened” (p. 336). The story never shows directly how Baji Sughra argued with her parents to let her marry Javed, and so, the readers have no clue how vocal or aggressive Baji Sughra had been in front of her parents and elders. When she tells her sad tale to Shabo, she assumes the role of a traditional feminine heroine in the face of an adversary. She throws herself on the bed and starts sobbing, later flinging her head down on her knees and weeping violently. Her emotions become melodramatic when she claims that she will kill herself if she is made to marry someone other than Javed. She wails “Oh Shabo, my life is over, I’ll kill myself, I’ll be a corpse instead of a bride, they’ll see” (p. 338). The image of Baji Sughra as a patriarchal feminine girl is reinforced here. Her overly emotional actions make her seem foolish and ridiculous, and she reveals to Shabo that even her own parents thought she was being foolish. Shabo notes that Baji Sughra’s rebellion would only remain meekly verbal and go no further; “If we were in the movies Baji Sughra would have indeed killed herself by taking poison which someone like me would have supplied to her, or she would have run away at the last minute, just as the maulvi sahib was getting ready in the other room to conduct the nikah. But this wasn’t the movies, alas” (p. 338). The idea of a woman rebelling against her parents and the patriarchal norms is only the stuff of movies and myths, not the reality. Patriarchal ideology imposes submissiveness and passivity on women, and so Baji Sughra gives up on her fight for her love and surrenders to her traditional gender role. She becomes the “good girl” that everyone expects her to be, and agrees to the marriage.

When it comes to Baji Sughra’s marriage to the man her parents chose for her, Shabo points out some of the Pakistani traits of a bride and gives a raw definition of a good girl and bad girl as seen in the light of the male dominant societal norms: “A sad bride is traditional, so that if anyone saw her in tears the only conclusion drawn was that the poor girl was weeping at the thought of leaving her parents’ home. In fact, if you showed too much excitement at your wedding, you’d be accused of immodesty” (Naqvi, 1997, p. 339). Thus, a Pakistani bride is restricted from showing too much joy or excitement and deemed ‘immodest’ or in other words, a bad girl. On the other hand, the bride who keeps her head bowed, remains mute and tearful is the good girl, because she is conforming to her gender. Regarding the bride’s assent at the time of nikah, Shabo says: “You’re not supposed to exceed the bounds of modesty and respond enthusiastically with a ‘yes’ right away. All brides must wait until the query is repeated for the third and last time and then, after a reasonable pause, come out with a demure ‘Hmm’ ” (p. 341). It is clear that submissiveness is a valuable quality in a woman as seen through the patriarchal lens that all characters in the story wear. While Shabo expected Baji Sughra to refuse to the marriage in front of the maulvi, or take some other bold action like tell her new husband the truth or refuse to show affection towards him, in reality, Sughra assumes the role of a submissive bride completely and gives her passive assent. She later tells Shabo that her husband is a wonderful man, and she is happy with him. Purged of her rebellious side, she has become exactly what the male dominant society wants her to be. The story seems to be reinforcing the patriarchal ideals of how a woman or a man should behave by showing that Sughra is now happy with her husband, because she chose to be the ‘good girl’ that everyone expected.

The story gives the impression that if a woman listens to her elders and mutes her own voice, she will get a happy ending. The patriarchal ideology believes that women are born to be passive, frail, modest, emotional and nurturing. Clearly Baji Sughra is a classic example of a patriarchal woman. She has been oppressed and restrained by her society, and she herself has given a willing consent to it. This patriarchal programming is apparent in all the characters of the story, including the narrator Shabo. Although Shabo questions the consent of Baji Sughra to the marriage and expresses displeasure at the lack of her rebellion, she is called a baby. Being a teenager, Shabo’s programming is not yet complete, but in time, she too will become attuned to the patriarchal norms and that is when she will be considered ‘mature’. The sisterhood between Shabo and Baji Sughra here is worth noting. Bescause Shabo is designated as Baji Sughra’s friend and confidant; she feels it is her duty to encourage Baji Sughra in her desire to marry Javed. She helps the latter arrange a secret tryst with Javed in the story, and tries to help the lovers in any way she can. Despite being the younger of the two, Shabo does not give up easily on the idea that Baji Sughra should give up her resistance and her right to marry the person she likes. Although Shabo does not give voice to her opinion, secretly she believes Baji Sughra should have fought harder and taken a stand in any way she could have. This shows that women desire a change in their hearts but do not have the courage or power yet to take a concrete action against the oppressive patriarchal norms. Since Baji Sughra is now happily married and is satisfied with her new husband, the readers will not question the patriarchal oppression on her but consent to it.

It is also important to note the political background that the story is set in. The story shifts between the 1988 elections of Benzair Bhutto, and the 1964 elections of Fatima Jinnah versus Ayub Khan. For a woman to run for the presidential seat is something unusual because in the patriarchal society women are not encouraged to aim for professions largely occupied by males. Baji Sughra’s awe and admiration at Fatima Jinnah’s participation in the elections is noteworthy: “A woman president for Pakistan. Can you believe it Shabo? And she’s running against a general too. But she’s so like her brother Jinnah, how can anyone not vote for her! She’ll win.” (p. 328). Shabo’s entire family supports Fatima Jinnah, which has more to do with the fact that she is Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s sister, than with her being a powerful, eligible politician. This highlights the fact that Fatima Jinnah is not acknowledged for her own capabilities and intelligence, but her importance is tied to her brother’s reputation. Once again the patriarchal ideology seems to be at work; a woman has a meaning only in relation to a man. When Fatima Jinnah loses the election, Shabo recounts that voting was rigged in a clever way so that it could not be proved. Shabo comments on Fatima Jinnah’s looks after the defeat that “she looked sadder than any tragic heroine in any movie I had ever seen” (p. 335). It is clear that the male dominant society during the 1960’s was not prepared to have a woman as their leader.

On that note, more than two decades later, in 1988, the Pakistani society still seems skeptical of allowing a woman to take on such a powerful seat which has always been reserved for the males. “Benazir Bhutto has a notion she will win. The mullahs, their hands raised ominously, their eyes glittering passionately, are up in arms because, as they see it, a woman cannot, and if they can help it, will not, hold executive office” (p. 326), as Shabo notes in the start of the story. Religious influences in promoting patriarchal ideals are obvious, because according to the religious scholars a woman’s place is to stay inside her home. The story clearly reflects Pakistani society’s gender issues in accepting a woman in a strong masculine role such as a president or prime minister. Shabo described Benazir Bhutto as having piercing eyes and determined looks. It would not be wrong to call Shabo a feminist, because she believes a woman should be able to aspire for something more in her life, and supports Benazir Bhutto. She defends Bhutto when Baji Sughra, who is now successfully conditioned by the patriarchal ideology, claims that Bhutto will never win because she’s too much in love with her husband, she likes to take risks and is always pregnant; “What can she do if she’s pregnant?” Baji Sughra retorts. At the end of the story, Baji Sughra’s last dialogue sums up the issue at the very heart of patriarchal ideology: “Well Shabo, she wants too much. Just think, you can either be a good wife and mother or a good leader. And she wants to be all three. Now, tell me Shabo, is that possible? How is that possible?” (p. 346). A woman will still be bound in her patriarchal gender role of child-rearing and household duties even if she establishes her career. Benazir Bhutto is looked down upon by Baji Sughra because she knows juggling motherhood and a career is impossible in this society, and so Bhutto is bound to fail. While Shabo is trying to break free from the patriarchal ideology prevalent in the Pakistani society by raising questions in her mind and even giving voice to them at the end of the story, Baji Sughra is strikingly opposite. Sughra has become a patriarchal woman, who has internalized the norms and values of the patriarchy prevalent in Pakistan.

In conclusion, “Love in an Election Year” carries the traditional definitions of masculinity and femininity. The characters in the story behave according to their own gender, save, perhaps Shabo whose opinions and perspectives mature as she grows older and by the end of the story she is the only one who seems to have the courage to articulate her opinion. In the form of Shabo, the selected short story seems to be questioning the traditional view of gender but its reinforcement and acceptance of these gender roles through the other characters overpowers the former. Thus, it cannot be said that the story invites the readers to criticize or reject the patriarchal ideology ruling Pakistani society even today. Baji Sughra’s tale is a sad one, but her own acceptance of her fate and the resultant satisfaction from it prevents the readers from opening their eyes to the oppression of women.

References

Naqvi, T. (1997). Love in an Election Year. M, Shamsie (Ed.), A Dragonfly in the Sun: An Anthology of Pakistani Writing in English (pp. 326-346). Karachi: Oxford University Press.

Tyson, L. (2006). Critical Theory Today. (2^nd Ed). USA: Routledge.