RIGHTS, RESISTANCE AND REPROACH: MAHA, THE VOICE OF THE VOICELESS, IN FAQIR’S PILLARS OF SALT

The Arab world and its literature is a collection o f literal expressions of revolutionary and reformat ive ideals, aimed at justice, equality and liberty claimed by a group of countries under one canopy called the Ara b world. The common themes of the Arab writers were struggle s related to migration, economic, political and soc ial suppression due to Colonialism and female subjugation ingrained in their cultural practices and religious interpre tations. With the radical changes in the social and political structu res as the outcome of cross-cultural interaction an d globalization, the present generation of Arab women writers has taken th pen as a weapon for self-defense against ignomi ny and as a tool to claim their existential rights. Fadia Faqir is one such Arab writer who strives to pull off the mask p ainted on the Arab faces only to reveal their true potential to the rest of the world. She is a blend of the East and West and writes in English. Her second novel, Pillars of Salt, is a story of two women Maha and Umm Saad who liv e a life of unending struggle and loss. The sense of loss that closes the novel bespe ak the ongoing fights which fill the lives of many Arab women even today. Fadia Faqir constructs an indefatigable Arab woman in Maha as against the popular stereotyped, submissive, vulnerable image. Maha finds fulfillment of her wis hes and succeeds in demonstrating her will against colonial and patriarchal advances. She becomes the voice of the voiceless, who are silenced by oppressive forces an d almost non-existent to the patriarchal eyes.