Exploring the Crises of Socio-Spatiality in the Short Story The Hijab and Her by Sabyn Javeri from Robert T Tally’s Perspective

Abstract

The current study analyses Sabyn Javeri’s short story The Hijab and Her (2019) through Robert T Tally’s (2012) socio-spatiality. The study follows the interpretative research paradigm and qualitative research approach. The text is critically analysed through Greenham’s (2018) proposed contexts of close reading.  The study explored that the protagonist Nasira suffered in the Euro-American society because of her vague religious compulsion of observing hijab in the liberal European classroom environment. Her teacher targeted and taunted her for belonging to the subcontinent which was colonized back in the 17th century; hence, it was considered as a fragile and poor soil. Further, he also mocked her for wearing a vague scarf, which according to him, symbolized women compulsion and inferiority. Her teacher’s frequent remarks about her indigenous rootedness was based on hatred and stereotypes. Hence, the study reveals that the protagonist is meted out maltreatment and frequent scolding due to her naïve indigenous rootedness, Islamic affiliation and belonging to the colonized soil.