Subaltern Voices in Iraqi Culture and Literature: Practices of Violence and Silencing Against Women

Abstract

This paper tackles the role of women as second-class citizens in Iraq. It aims to highlight the concept of gendered subaltern in terms of Iraqi culture and literature. The study argues that Iraqi literature has successfully pinpointed strategies of violence and subalternity, practiced on Iraqi women. It significantly shows that wars, bloodshed, and economic hardship have traumatized Iraqi women, making them an "Other," "oppressed," and "muzzled." Some literary works by Iraqi writers are cited as examples of how the subaltern female has been depicted in their works of fiction and nonfiction. The study examines short tales written by Iraqi writers of different ethnic backgrounds to shed light on the many ways in which Iraqi culture is commented upon and portrayed in literature.