Picture Imperfect: Representation of ‘Zia’s Islamization’ in The Geometry of God

Abstract

This paper critically examines The Geometry of God (2008) by Uzma Aslam Khan to discuss the repercussions of Zia’s Islamization in Pakistan. The present study focuses on the establishment of patriarchal structure in the Pakistani society through legislation, culture and religion; and the resistance shown by the Pakistani women. With Zia-ul-Haq’s Martial Law (1977-88), the policies and legislation of his regime in Pakistan as the backdrop, this research reflects on The Geometry of God by using the concepts of Sinha’s ‘Gender Trouble’, Kandiyoti’s ‘Bargaining with Patriarchy’ and Butler’s Gender Performativity’. This research highlights the impacts of Zia’s regime on Pakistani women, their subsequent positioning and marginalizing by the patriarchy and its reflection in the selected text. This study is significant because it highlights the then government’s use of legislation as a tool to assert the state ideology and it also focuses on the resistance of women in their denial and refusal of this marginalization. With the help of this study, future research may be conducted on the same thematic patterns having a male author’s perspective and also by creating a comparison and contrast between the two perspectives.

keywords: Denial, Islamization, Marginalization, Patriarchy, Resistance