Comparative Analysis of the Woman's Swimming Pool and In Camera

However, the authors have demonstrated the extent to which some of the women go to ensure that they have their own space and an environment where they can express themselves. The societies which they live in still do not allow the women to go to the full length of self-expression because they feel that they cross some imaginary boundaries that have been in existence. Religious aspects seem to be the only basis under which the societies can agree on, and that is what Hanan Al-Shaykh the author of “The Woman’s Swimming Pool” and El Saadawi's “In Camera” have used to highlight the plight of the women. Gender oppression is entwined with traditional cultural practices and religious inclinations which make it hard for the female characters to discover the true meaning of their lives and how they are supposed to live independently.

Hanan Al-Shaykh showcases how the culture and traditions that she is brought up in have been impeding her to fulfill her curiosity about life and the things that she wants to achieve as a woman who is highly influenced by her culture and religion. The courts are corrupted, and there is no chance that the protagonist can be able to get a fair trial because the judges have been compromised. In their disgust and indifference, the courts feel that Leila has insulted the leader whom God has chosen and due to that reason she is supposed to die, to make it worse, she is a woman. In essence, the courts feel that the leader should not be subjected to criticism or objectification which may seem to demean their authority or leadership.

The prison system that the narrator has been jailed is meant to break her spirit and ensure that she feels the decision which she made in engaging with politics was wrong but the administrators allowed 10 men to gang rape her (El Saadawi, 1105). Through the ordeal, Leila recalls the way that she has always felt throughout her life because she was not beautiful and she was not a male. Cultural aspects that are presented throughout the two books show how the people who live in the Arab countries have myopic views of how the world is supposed to operate and the rights which they can accord their women. For the male-oriented and dominated Arab countries, the woman is supposed to be seen and not to be heard while their freedoms and rights are also supposed to be determined by the men.

When societies are not given an opportunity to express themselves whether it is the children, the women, the youth or even the men, then there is bound to be a rebellion when their anger can no longer be suppressed. In “Woman’s Swimming Pool” the young girl is unable to have any source of reference outside her tiny village which has a rocky landscape, threading tents, tobacco crops and the strict adherence to matters that are related to Islam. To escape this harshness and reality, the girl dreams of seeing the sea where she hears stories of its immense beauty and how she can be able to express herself better beyond her village which is condensing. It is hard to remove traditional and cultural practices that determine the role that different genders play in the society, but it becomes even harder when those regions have fully accepted their ways of life.

Coincidentally, Nawal El Saadawi uses Leila Al-Fargani to represent a girl who is able to associate her end name with what she inherited from her father and what she is supposed to be called officially. However, when the trial begins, the name sounds like a distant voice which is meant to echo past memories of who she used to be before she became a prisoner and an abused woman. Despite the pain being experienced by Leila her father Al-Fargani feels the shame of her daughter being associated with politics and the defilement that she had to endure at the hands of the rapists. These type of scenarios represent a society that only enjoys the glory of the child only when they are able to alleviate the name of the family, and it is unforgiving to women who have to bear their father's name and engage in wayward behaviors.

Gender & society 2. Mendola, Tara. Where Do We Go From Here?: Reading" Arab Women's Writing" Today. College Literature 36. Moghadam, Valentine M.