Deconstruction of Gendered Spaces: A Queer reading of Ismat Chughtai’s Lihaaf

This paper offers a queer theoretical reading of Ismat Chughtai’s short story Lihaaf (The Quilt), which is considered a seminal text in South Asian feminist literature because of its intense controversy upon publication that depicts, under subtext, the intimacy for the same sex. However, the narrative of the short story does not explicitly propagate homosexuality, but it does, to some extent, portray the intimate relationship between Begum Jaan and her maid Rabbo. This paper will apply mixed methods and queer theoretical reading in particular, with a focus on the deconstruction of gendered spaces. Chugati, through Begum Jan’s character, shows the liberation from the shackles of patriarchy in a time when the Zenana tradition was prevailing that confined women to the walls of the houses and their bodies as reserved assets of men. She makes the confined place a site of resistance, which helps Begum Jaan to redefine her gender and her journey towards self-actualization. The Quilt is a powerful metaphor for deviant desires that are hidden with the aid of cultural conditioning. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concept, how, through the power of discourse, sexuality is produced and is imposed on women, in which they inevitably are sidelined and silenced. Moreover, this paper shows the instability of gender binarities; that is to say, Begum Jan’s turn to homosexuality is not merely for sexual satisfaction; however, it is a kind of radical act of resistance on her part to reconstruct her gender in response to colonial patriarchy. This story queers the gendered spaces, destabilizes the defined gender roles, and posits challenges to the ideological patriarchal forces and offers a way to liberation.