society stereotypes women as bitches, angels, housewives, old maids, or brainless, women must struggle against such discrimination and define who
they are. He also clarifies that women can no longer allow their patriarchal society to determine their opinions, roles, and values.
However, even though feminist literary criticism makes women as its center of study in literature and aims to uncover male
‟s domination in a patriarchal society, it does not mean women can take control over men and
dominate all fields of life as men once did. It does not also see sexual difference as a threat. On the contrary, feminist literary criticism is meant to
change women‟s condition in the world of literature as it should be. To free themselves from gender discrimination, women should challenge
literary works by reading as women, re- reading men‟s images of women,
resisting the narrative point of view which is mostly masculine, and replotting female destiny which is usually portrayed to be the passive acceptance
Morris, 1999:13-33.
2. Patriarchy
According to Walby 1990:20, patriarchy is a social system where men dominate, exploit, and oppress women. Another schollar, Ray 2006:1, states
defines the term “patriarchy” as a father‟s rule in a family with male dominatation. It is a belief that is ideologically and socially constructed by the
society in which men are considered superior to women. In a patriarchal system, men control women‟s lives. He 2006:2 also states that the archaic
view believes that patriarchy is determined biologically. Since men and women are different, the social duties and roles attributed for women are also
different. This is in line with what Thong says 2009:52 that men‟s and
women‟s roles in a patriarchal society are indeed different. Men usually gets masculine, or dominat roles, while women gets feminine, or subordinate ones.
Patriarchal system also believes in the idea of motherhood which limits women‟s mobility and also obligates them with the burden of the duties to
rear and nurture children Ray, 2006:2. In other words, women have no other choice but devoting themselves to their families so that they have no chance to
develop theirselves and gain position in public life. While the private sphere is reserved for women as housewives and mothers, on the contrary, political
sphere is meant for men.
a. Women’s Lives in A Patriarchal Society in Afghanistan
Patriarchal system in a country may be different from others, including in Afghanistan, because of the differences in caste, class, religion, ethnicity,
religion and social practices Ray, 2006:1. The strong influences of religion and politics situation have created the strong patriarchal system in
Afghanistan. The country is even pronounced as the most dangerous place for women Khan, 2012:2.
Under the ocupation of Soviet, women‟s status in Afghanistan was undermined and it become worse under the Taliban regime.
Khan, 2012:1. According to Oxfam in Khan, 2012:1, Taliban forbade women to work outside their houses, foced them to wear the burqa, apparel
which covers al most all part of women‟s bodies, baned them to travel alone:
