The Veil in Western Eyes and the Politics of (Mis)Representation in Nora Twomey’s The Breadwinner: A Graphic Novel

Abstract

This study attempts to explore the (mis)representation of the Afghan women by western feminists with a special reference to Nora Twomey’s The Breadwinner: A Graphic Novel. This study entails the use of the concepts of postcolonial feminism as theorized by Gayatri Spivak, Chandra Mohanty, Leila Ahmed and Lila Abu-Lughod as well as postcolonial theorists such as Frantz Fanon and Stuart Hall. Moreover, Edward Said’s concept of ‘Orientalism’ will be used to unravel how the portrayal of Muslim women in the graphic novel resulted in the ‘Othering’ of third world women, creating a third world difference. As per the alliances of graphic fiction with postmodern critical approaches and different academic disciplines, the study will also explain the significance of all medium specific features of the graphic narrative like page layout, panel design, speech balloons, narratorial captions, and sound effects. The functions of filmic techniques used in graphic narrative like camera angle shots and the mise en scene will be thoroughly examined as well in order to support the main argument of the study – mainly criticizing the negative stereotyping of Muslim women in the selected text.