Projection of Occidental Gaze in Kartography: A Study of the Western Feminist Prism in the Diaspora Narrative

Abstract

The research paper uses Kamila Shamsie, a Pakistani diaspora Anglophone writer’s novel Kartography, as a primary text to critique the influence of the occidental gaze on the diaspora female writers of Pakistan and how they end up projecting the Pakistani women from their personal perspective of affluent, educated status, mimicking the western feminist philosophy. The study uses textual analysis and closed reading methods within the post-colonial feminism and narrative theoretical framework. The discourse of the occidental gaze, representation or misrepresentation of the Orient, objectification of women, and Western feminism have been used to question the authenticity of the narratives of these diaspora writers. The purpose of this research is to highlight that feminist theory is not monolithic and that diaspora writers lack the authenticity to define regional feminism in Asia. In other words, they cannot shed off the influence of western feminist philosophy and the occidental gaze because they share the same experiences of living in Western society. Since they have spent most of their lives in the West, they have been conditioned by the occidental discourse and viewpoint about their native land. This project aims to highlight variation in the feminist stance and how Asia and Pakistan specifically need a different treatment to define feminism in order to encapsulate Pakistani unique idioms and experiences and that diaspora women writers have the least credibility to develop one.