Challenging Gender Roles: A Feminist Analysis of Ghani Khan’s The Pathans

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse Ghani Khan’s The Pathans using the feminist lens of literary criticism. Ghani Khan, also known as Lewanai Phalsafi (The Lunatic Philosopher), is a towering literary figure in Pashto literature. Ghani Khan has extensively written in the Pashto language. He is commonly known for his poetry and art. The author amalgamated the concept of Feminism given by the French writer and philosopher, Simone de Beauvoir, and that of Ghani Khan’s view about the attitudes of the male-dominated society towards the women. Ghani Khan strived to unveil the atrocities of the tribal system and the usurpation of women's rights at the hands of the Pashtoon male-dominant society. In his short story, which has been taken for analysis, PRIEST MAGIC AND CHARMS LTD., he manifests the horrible subjugation of the women of the typical Pashtoon society. Ghani Khan remained a staunch proponent of women’s rights up until his death in 1996. He criticized the stereotypical theological exploitation of illiterate people as well. The researchers used qualitative method to conduct this research and employed an archival data collection approach to contribute in the body of knowledge.