Awakening Egyptian Women’s Conscience - A critical discourse analysis : Doria Shafiq’s writings in Bint an-Nīl 1948-1956, from a postcolonial perspective

Abstract: This research gives an academic perspective on eleven articles written by Doria Shafiq and published in Bint an-Nīl 1948-1956, where the ideological undertones of her feminist discourse were critically examined. The purpose of this qualitative analysis was to study how Shafiq, in an Egyptian context, discussed the contemporary women's societal participation and status, but also which ideological values and conceptions were prominent in her articles. Gayatri Spivak’s reconceptualization of representation and Chandra Mohanty’s identification of ethnocentrism in feminist discourse, were drawn upon to examine representation, agency, essentialisation and Eurocentrism. An extensive linguistic analysis and examination of the socio-cultural context were conducted, using Norman Fairclough’s Dialectical-Relational Approach. The results showed that women’s agency was grammatically reduced and that women in object formation were described as a monolithic entity. Conflicting statements exhibited an ideological shift in the content, as a reflection of how the contemporary political conditions changed in Egypt. Doria Shafiq both reproduced a patriarchal discourse that perpetuated discursive victimisation of women, but also subtly induced liberal values and progressive depictions of the contemporary Egyptian woman.