2020 IB Extended Essays

aims to discredit the belief that the Islamic religion sanctions injustice by having the female characters keep their faith and use it to bolster themselves when they are mistreated. Praying is still an outlet and source of strength. Comparably, within The Handmaid’s Tale , Atwood only characterises religion as a means of oppression to women. This is not to say that the women within Kafr-El-Teen do not falter in their faith when they are suffering at the hands of religious leaders. During an argument with her aunt, Zakeya cries that “[she] has not ceased praying and begging God to help us. And yet everyday [their] misery becomes greater” ( p58 ). Instead of just blaming religion, El-Saadawi seeks to drain the vitality of the norms of a patriarchal system “with a woman’s eye view.” (El-Saadawi, 2015). This is important in her work as an agent of change, as, instead of reducing women to victims of religion, she shows her characters turning to Allah as a source of strength. Due to pre-existing prejudice about Islam, El-Saadawi does not want readers to ignore patriarchy as the source of oppression and just blame Islamic beliefs. Instead she directs her critique toward the patriarchy itself, by undercovering the hypocrisy and sins of male leaders who impose male superiority on women in the name of religion, like Sheikh Hamzawi. Whilst being assaulted by the Sheikh during prayer, Zakeya dissociates herself from reality and says that “In her ears echoed the words of Allah and between her thighs crept the hands of Sheik Hamzawi.” ( p33 ). This connection with Allah whilst she is being coerced by Sheikh, highlights the manipulation of religion by men. Sheikh Hamzawi uses the pretence of praying so he can sexually assault her whilst she simultaneously uses true prayer as a means of escape. This moment emphasises that it is not the prayer that is hurting Zakeya, but the man using the opportunity of prayer as a means to assert his dominance. Prayer acts as a manipulation device for her male aggressor but as a source of relief and escape for Zakeya. Juxtaposing the use of prayer for each character epitomises El-Saadawi’s belief that religion is not responsible for oppression, but rather the influence of patriarchy has manipulated it to act in male favour. El-Saadawi does this to show that the issues present in Kafr-El-Teem are notably complex and systematic and

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