Resistance Against Patriarchy and Islamophobia: Fostering Peace in Heart Lamp

The collection of short stories, Eedeya Hanathe (1990), written by Banu Mushtaq and translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi as Heart Lamp, addresses the living experiences and day-to-day challenges of Muslim women. The stories revolve around the patriarchal and religious violence against women in the Muslim community; however, it transcends that and becomes a similar story of all women from different religions and castes. At the time of surging Islamophobia in India and other parts of the world, which dehumanizes Muslims, Heart Lamp sheds true light on the realities of the Muslim women and their community and resists all forms of oppression with peace and love. The early marriage of girls, the mechanical form of relationship between husband and wife, the abandonment by husbands, the suffocating patriarchal ecosystem and many other themes reveal the sufferings and forced submissive nature of women. These narratives sensitize the minds and social consciousness to develop empathy towards other human beings, especially women from all walks of life. It tackles hate and prejudice that are sown in the minds of people against other communities. Therefore, this paper substantiates Mushtaq’s critical-insider role in promoting reformation, empathy, and peace in a broken society.