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Out Of The Shadows: Women In Malay Court Narratives
by Ruzy Suliza Hashim
About This Book
This book highlights the problematics of the notion that marginal positioning of women in selected Malay court narratives equates with their apparent insignificance in the history of Malay kings. By looking through the lenses of feminist dialogics, social exchange, and islamic theology - at times singly, and at other times in combination - it is argued that women were in fact central in the lives and tribulations of Malay kings. By using feminist dialogics, the crevices inherent in the Malay chronicles are revealed to show ingrained contradictions that seem to naturalise the subjugation of women. Theories of social exchange disclose the motives which drive reciprocity, and suggest women, conspicuous as objects of exchange, are in fact indispensable in the exchange between men. It is argued that the monarchical system is so transient that it needs women in order to generate male prestige and power, political hierarchy, social identity, and legitimacy. In this book, the women's muted silence is imbued with meaning and their minimal participation is brought to the center of history.
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