A Retrospective Analysis of Cultural Patriarchy in Majid Rafizadeh’s A God Who Hates Women: A Woman’s Journey Through Oppression

Abstract

Cultural patriarchy is the male dominance practiced in the name of culture in a society. Majid Rafizadeh, an Iranian American author, businessman, political scientist, and academician, is known for his distinguished writings on gender equality in Middle Eastern regions. His famous novels are A God Who Hates Women: A woman’s journey through oppression and My Story of Child Marriage. The present study has chosen Majid Rafizadeh’s autobiographical novel, A God Who Hates Women: A woman’s journey through oppression, to determine a retrospective analysis of cultural patriarchy. The methodology of the present study uses textual analysis from qualitative research to analyze the selected novel. The current research emphasizes that the oppression of women is due to male dominance. Hence, the culture of that particular society instills this dominance in the minds of men. It is evident in the selected novel. Society’s culture determines the roles and performances of men and women in both private and public areas. Thus, culture influences people’s collective consciousness. Religion, on the other hand, instructs the people to follow a code of conduct to protect their cultural heritage. Furthermore, the current study analyzes the chosen novel using Judith Butler’s gender performativity theory and Raymond William’s dominant, residual, and emergent cultural concepts. The current research is an attempt to analyze cultural patriarchy to propose a solution for achieving gender equality in society.