Islamic Art Studies

Islamic Art Studies

A Comparative Study of the Portrayal of Women in the Novel Laqita by Mohammad Abdul Halim Abdullah and the Illustrated Version of One Thousand and One Nights by Sani' al-Mulk

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ali Jeddi 1
Mostafa Yegani 2
Ardashir Sadraddini 2
1 PhD Student, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Mahabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Mahabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad, Iran.
10.22034/ias.2023.382540.2153
Abstract
In third-world Arab-Islamic societies, entangled in the contradictions of traditional beliefs and the alien impositions of modernity, deeply rooted patriarchal perspectives persist, particularly in Egypt. Here, women are relegated to secondary status, compounded by insufficient legal protections for their rights. This study examines the causes and consequences of such traditional cultural norms through Mohammad Abdul Halim Abdullah’s novel Laqita, a work by a contemporary Egyptian writer, and analyzes the depiction of women in Sani' al-Mulk’s illustrated edition of One Thousand and One Nights. Employing a qualitative, library-based methodology and content analysis, the research reveals that social incivility-particularly individual ignorance, fundamentalism, populism, poverty, and the excessive desires of hedonistic men-fuels the perpetuation of this social dilemma. While women in the illustrated One Thousand and One Nights still lack elevated social standing, developments during the Qajar period led to a more prominent representation of women in the artwork of this era.
Research Objectives
1.     Depicting the image of Egyptian women amid the clash between tradition and modernity.
2.     Analyzing the portrayal of women in Sani' al-Mulk’s illustrated One Thousand and One Nights.
Research Questions
1.     How are women represented within the tension between tradition and modernity in Egyptian society?
2.     How is femininity reflected in Sani' al-Mulk’s illustrated One Thousand and One Nights?
Keywords
Laqita
Mohammad Abdul Halim Abdullah
social themes
women
tradition and modernity
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