The Exploitative Role of Patriarchy and Capitalism: An Ecofeminist Study of Daniyal Moeenuddin’s Provide, Provide

Abstract

This article is an ecofeminist critique of the short story Provide, Provide taken from Mueenuddin’s (2009) collection of short stories In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. This study centers on how women and the environment are interlinked in terms of oppression in rural Pakistan. It examines how both land and women have been objectified by capitalism and male chauvinism that reduce them to mere objects that can be sold and owned. By analyzing the roles of the women portrayed in the text, one can observe how the patriarchal attitudes result in the prerogative of their bodies. This entails a situation where the individuals and communities are locked out from enjoying independence of actions, restricted economic liberty, and restricted access to education and healthcare services, among others. This exploitation also has negative impacts on the environment. The study pays keen attention on features, which relates real-life issues of ecofeminism and relates the way women and the environment are treated. This explains the way patriarchal capitalism impacts the marginalized communities. In the short story, Provide, Provide, these global concerns are depicted, and the importance of the dual analysis of gender and environmental oppression is underlined. The revealed results of the study help to enrich the developments of ecofeminist studies by illustrating how literary works can challenge and shed light on the interconnection between people and nature and gender prejudices. Altogether the study reveals how the dual forms of exploitation need to be addressed for sustainable and equitable development.