Misuse of Islam in El-Saadawi’s God dies by the Nile from a socialist feminist perspective

Abstract

This essay argues that El-Saadawi, in her novel God Dies by the Nile, does not oppose Islam and does not claim that it is Islam that oppresses women, but rather that it is the abuse of Islam and the melange of Islam, traditions, and superstitions that oppresses the women in Kafr El Teen, which is symbolic of many Arab countries. This paper takes a socialist feminist perspective and analyzes the ways in which political institutions, patriarchy. and power structures in El-Saadawi’s God Dies by the Nile falsely and maliciously resort to religion and distort it in order to oppress women. This abuse is manifested in all aspects of the villagers’ lives—political, economic, social, and sexual.