Women’s Resistance In Amin Salamah’s Short Story “Dawlat Azh-Zhulm Sa’ah”: A Literary Feminist Analysis

This study is based on an effort to identify forms of female resistance found in the short story “Dawlat azh-Zhulm Sa’ah” by Amin Salamah. This short story depicts the social reality of a society still influenced by a patriarchal system, which gives rise to gender inequality, manipulative seduction, social pressure, and slander against women. These conditions drive women to resist in an effort to uphold their dignity and moral values, as well as to protect themselves and their families. This study employs a qualitative approach using text content analysis. The research data consist of narrative excerpts and dialogues that illustrate the attitudes and actions of female characters in confronting social pressure. The analysis is conducted through the lens of Naomi Wolf’s power feminism, which emphasizes the concepts of personal power and agency, and is enriched by the integration of Islamic values as a moral and spiritual foundation for understanding women’s resistance. The results indicate that women’s resistance is represented through rejection of gender stereotypes, firmness in safeguarding their self-respect from men’s desires, resistance to slander through spiritual strength in the form of prayer, and efforts to protect their families from harmful social influences. These findings affirm that female characters are not portrayed as passive victims but rather as subjects possessing the awareness and strength to resist behaviors that contradict Islamic moral values and teachings, with the aim of preserving their dignity and self-respect. This study contributes to enriching the field of Arab literary feminism by integrating the perspectives of power feminism and Islamic values in understanding women’s agency.