Interrogating Patriarchy in Contemporary Pakistani Fiction: A Feminist Analysis of Sabyn Javeri’s Nobody Killed Her

Abstract

This research explores Nobody Killed Her by Sabyn Javeri from Feminist perspective and examines the notion of patriarchy in recent fiction from Pakistan. By doing so, it aims to investigate how representation of patriarchy gain ground and traversed through socio-cultural matrix. A political thriller, in the novel power, gender oppression, women’s systemic marginalization in a patriarchal society are intricately interwoven. Using feminist literary theory as an interpretive paradigm, this work examines how Javeri weaves female agency and resistance into a patriarchal sociopolitical context. The research employs feminist literary theory, especially Radical Feminism, Postmodern Feminism and Postcolonial Feminism as its theory to study Nobody Killed Her. The study explores how power relationships, female ambition and an interconnection of gender and politics influence women’s experiences. It also interrogates how the novel questions or reinforces traditional gender norms, looking at the protagonist’s struggles against cultural and institutional structures. The findings point to the novel’s subversive approach to narrative dynamics, the complexity of female solidarity and the restrictive roles for women who seek autonomy and leadership. This study highlights the importance of fiction as a medium of resistance against the entangled gender hierarchies of Pakistan.