Shame

Misogyny is the dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women. In the context of Shame, misogyny exists on a societal level. The society portrayed in the novel is inherently patriarchal, in that men control all the positions of power in the emergent (and fictionalized) nation of Pakistan, with women pushed to the margins of society. As such, the female characters in the novel experience misogyny, which pervades and shapes their lives. They have less agency than the male characters and are forced to adhere to the whims of their male counterparts: the politicians and husbands who drive the primary plotline forward. In the household, women are reduced to only being child-bearers and child-carers. In the political sphere, they can only hope to act vicariously through the men who wield all the power. Arjumand, for example, is interested in politics and rejects the idea of romance in order to pursue her political ambitions. However, her ambitions are only achievable, through her father, Iskander. She can never have power on her own; instead, she can only hope to exercise indirect influence via a man who serves as a figurehead. Similarly, Omar has no respect for women’s ability to consent. When Farah turns down his romantic advances, he hypnotizes her and overrides her agency, raping her and rationalizing his crimes by claiming that she would never have done anything under hypnosis that she was not already willing to do. Farah’s agency is therefore dismissed out of hand. When she is shunned by the town and forced to leave, Omar does not care or take any responsibility for her fate. She is harmed by the situation and is driven from the community while he is allowed to prosper. When she does return, she is ostracized. This aspect of the story illustrates the fact that the inherent misogyny of society reduces women’s capacity to exercise political or individual agency.

In a political sense, misogyny becomes a tool of securing political power. Raza initiates many misogynistic policies in the name of religion as a way to win support from his base. On the advice of the voice of Maulana Dawood, for example, he institutes a law that demands that every woman in the country wear a burqa. He decides this unilaterally and not for sincere religious reasons, but as a way of solidifying his hold on power. He does this at the expense of women, not because they have asked for it. The injustices that characterize his rule therefore illustrate that women are subject to laws over which they have no control. This dynamic stands as evidence of women’s lack of political power and demonstrates the patriarchal attitudes that dismiss the concept of female suffrage as less important than the consecration of male power. As such, the choice of women to wear the burqa is taken away from them, for it is no longer an expression of religious devotion; instead, it is demanded by the state. A woman’s right to express herself is taken away as an exercise of male power.

At the end of the novel, the misogyny of the society results in ironic consequences for many of the male characters. Raza, who instituted the burqa law and dismissed his own female family members, finds himself judged—and then executed—by Omar’s three mothers. They brutalize the deposed dictator just as he brutalized women under his regime. Similarly, Sufiya kills her husband, Omar, the man who married her even though she had the mental age of a child and who sedated her rather than trying to help her. These deaths may be ironic, with the male violence of society turned back on the men whose misogynistic attitudes helped to perpetuate the marginalization of women, but it is not final. These are individual, rather than communal solutions. As much catharsis as these women find in the deaths of the men who have harmed them, the society as a whole remains misogynistic, but women are at least permitted to return a fraction of the violence that they have experienced against the men who imposed it.