Picturing the Girl: Understanding Muslim Girlhood through Fiction and Film

Tehmina Pirzada, Purdue University

Abstract

Considerable scholarship exists on the figure of the Muslim woman in postcolonial studies and Islamic feminism, but rarely do these discourses focus on Muslim girlhood. Often regarded as a precursor to Muslim womanhood, these scholarly discourses frequently ignore the Muslim girl because of her relative youthfulness, perceived immaturity, and dependence on adults. This dissertation departs from the existing feminist and postcolonial frameworks by centering Muslim girlhood as an identity construct that emphasizes that girls are formidable knowledge producers, observers, and participants in their respective communities. It examines the construction and visibility of Muslim girlhood by foregrounding their self-expressions, forms of resistance, corporealities, and sexualities. It draws upon a varied range of girl-centered narratives such as the autobiographical novella Lahore with Love: Growing up with Girlfriends Pakistani Style by Fawzia Afzal Khan (2010) and Geometry of God by Uzma Aslam Khan (2008). It also analyzes critically acclaimed films such as Siddiq Barmak’s Osama (2003), Marzieh Meshkini’s The Day I became a Woman (2000), Majid Majidi’s Baran (2001), and Samira Makhmalbaf’s Sib (1998), as well as graphic narratives such as Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis (2000) and Haroon Rashid’s Burka Avenger (2012– ). To lay the groundwork of this interdisciplinary visual and literary analysis, I draw upon critical frameworks such as Ruby Lal’s examination of playfulness, Su’ad Khabeer’s visual trope of the “Muslim Cool,” and Rancière’s theorization of “emancipated spectatorship,” as well as conducting an in-depth examination of generic conventions such as the “vignette” and “graphic narrative.” The use of these varied frameworks suggests new ways of centering and visualizing Muslim girlhood, along with emphasizing the ways in which Muslim girlhood resists and reframes normative standards of self-expression, corporeality, sexuality, and ability. By focusing on the construction and representation of Muslim girlhood in literary and cinematic works, this dissertation emphasizes the often ignored power of Muslim girlhood and the vital role that it plays in navigating religious fundamentalism, resisting local patriarchies, as well as fighting the hackneyed representations of Muslim identities. By examining the literary and visual presence of Muslim girlhood, this dissertation enriches existing discourses in girlhood studies in addition to contributing to the fields of feminist theory, youth studies, visual studies, and postcolonial scholarship.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Sagar, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Modern literature|Islamic Studies|Gender studies|Film studies

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