Gender Coloniality: Patriarchy and Feminist Resistance in Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero

Gender coloniality in African literature is characterized by feminist identity, which is twisted into uncertainties and continued abuse. Just as women are unduly subjected to masculinist and socio-economic and political dominance, colonial intrusion situates them more at the margin than indigenous culture does. Thus, gender coloniality is a continued domination of women in postcolonial Africa. From postcolonial feminist theory, this paper explores the coloniality of women in Nawal El Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero. Although studies of the novel focus on sexuality and gender commodification, this paper employs Gyatri Spivak's theory of the subaltern to examine the woman as a marginalized individual. And one who launches a fierce attack as a way to speak against patriarchal tradition that has persistently debased her female identity. The paper takes an expository look at the representation of patriarchy, the intersection of class, gender and colonial impact. The paper, however, interrogates the patriarchal conceptualization of femininity that invariably signifies weakness, dependency, and continued denial.