International Journal of Gender & Women's Studies

Feminism throughout Laylá Ba‘albakī’s Fiction
Dr. Khaled Igbaria

Abstract
A number of Lebanese women writers of the period of 1950s and 1960s have received considerable attention by scholars. This is not the case, however, for Laylá Ba‘albakī, whom the field has failed to address in any substantive manner. In not paying sufficient attention to Ba‘albakī, the field has failed to appreciate the distinctly feminist dimension of her work. To date, most scholars have only repeated commonly held views about her and her fiction. At her trial in 1964, Ba‘albakī became a scapegoat for all the feminist women writers in the Middle East. Her attempt to improve the lives of Arab women and her opposition to patriarchy had made her a target. Her writings raised the taboo topic of female sexuality, and constituted a revolutionary attack against the patriarchal culture, values, and institutions. Ba‘albakī is a significant and fascinating figure within modern feminist Lebanese writing and strongly deserves to be studied more closely. By addressing feminism throughout Ba‘albakī’s fiction, this article hopes to contribute to a fuller understanding of Lebanese women writers of 1950s and 1960s. This article investigates which and how feminist agenda and issues are reflected in Ba‘albakī’s writings.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijgws.v3n1a15