Gender Subjugation in Indian and Pakistani Society with reference to Bapsi Sidhwa’s novel Ice Candy Man

Abstract

BapsiSidhwa’s novel Ice Candy Manexplores the marginalization of women during the partition and after the partition. The main objective of this paper is to project in bright light the various forms of gendered violence during the partition of India. An analysis of the central character Ayahand other women characters in the novel, underscore how acts of abduction and rape use women’s sexuality as a tool to articulate religious enmity. This paper will depict that Ayah’s abduction is a punishment for her lack of adherence to cultural norms. This paper also highlights that women’s bodies were under patriarchal surveillance and regulations and those who fail to abide societal rules are inevitably discarded. This paper intents to explore the treatment of abducted women by the patriarchal state to expose the social reality where victimized women were ostracized by society. By analyzing the violence against women during the partition, this paper will highlight how Sidhwa’s novel contributes to a silenced feministic reading of partition history.