Safwa’s Gender Injustice in Syed M. Masood’s The Bad Muslim Discount Novel

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the forms of gender injustice that Safwa experiences in The Bad Muslim Discount novel by Syed M. Masood. The method used is descriptive qualitative with read-and note-taking as data collection techniques and content analysis as a data analysis techniques. This study was examined with a literary feminist approach using Fakih's theory of gender injustice and Scott's theory of resistance. The findings show that Safwa experiences gender injustice in the form of marginalization in terms of losing the right to choose a life partner, subordination in which her body is treated as an object, stereotypes that limit her role to the domestic sphere, double workload, and physical and psychological violence. As the impact of the gender injustice Safwa experienced, she exhibited her resistance overtly in the form of rejecting forced marriage, fighting harassment, and opposing orders that ignore her feelings. Meanwhile, her covert resistance includes secretly writing fake letters and continuing her education. This study strengthens the understanding of gender literacy in literary studies, supports gender literacy education so that society understands the impact of patriarchy, and provides a foundation for other researchers who wish to
examine forms of injustice and their impact on the attitudes and actions of female characters in fighting injustice in other literary works, especially Muslim women in different social and cultural contexts, to broaden the understanding of equality and women’s empowerment.