[EN] Representation of Women in Nigerian Society: A Study of Selected Arabic Literary Prose Works of Hamid Mahmud Ibrahim Al-Hijri

Abstract

Literature, as a branch of the humanities, reflects the socio-cultural realities of its environment. Like other genric forms, Arabic literary prose in Nigeria contributes to portraying societal issues, including the status and treatment of women. With a focus on gender inequalities, this study aims to examine the depiction of women in Nigerian society through Arabic literary prose. Purposive sampling technique was used to select three novels by Hamid Mahmud Ibrahim al-Hijri (Khadimul-watan, Ma’satul-hubb and Intiqam), which were analysed through thematic and textual analysis within a qualitative descriptive design, using feminist literary criticism as the interpretive framework. The findings reveal that al-Hijri writes as a sympathetic chronicler of women's condition: his prose exposes, with evident compassion, the class, religious and patriarchal pressures under which women suffer, yet it stops short of granting women decisive agency over their own fates. The study concludes that Nigerian Arabic literary prose is nonetheless a valuable medium for raising awareness of women's issues and prompting reflection on gender balance.