Lihaf, by Ismat Chugtai

The women in the pre-colonial times were innocent victims to the perpetual patriarchy in the society, were gripped in the clutches of tradition and womanhood, which resulted in their enslavement and neglect of their sexual desires. Ismat Chugtai’s Lihaf, published in 1942, deals with the sexual frustration of women and unconventional sexual relations as opposed to heteronormative ones. I intend to show that Chugtai's Lihaf examines the restrained and objectified existence of women in patriarchy, with a special reference to Begum Jan, owing to the restriction of movement and expression. The persistent oppression and neglect of her sexual desire leaves Begum Jan despondent and sexually frustrated and she subsequently explores the faculty of female sexual desire and a fulfilling companionship with Rabbu redeems her.

The narrator in the story tells us of Begum Jan being 'given' in marriage to an old and rich Nawab and how she was 'installed in his house along with the furniture', establishing the fact that the patriarchal institution of marriage dehumanized women and paraded women like objects which lack desires and emotions. Begum Jan's parents probably thought of this unmatched marriage as a favorable economic option to fulfill the social obligation of getting their daughter married and for Nawab, it was a social stamp of approval and a means to conceal is homosexuality. The fact that narrator's mother did not allow her to play with boys and her belief of womankind being kept under lock and key, show how, in the story, even women have internalized the idea of systemic patriarchy.

The Nawab imprisoned his wife in the house and did not let her go visit other people. He spared no time for her and left her to 'pine in loneliness’ whil...

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...e conventional boundaries of heteronormative desires by illustrating homosexual relationships to be normal and equally likely. Through her narrative, she tries to bring out the hypocrisy in the society wherein female sexual desire is restricted against male sexual desire as Nawab’s desire for the young boys is public but still he is considered ‘pious’ and how Begum Jan’s desire which is restricted under the Lihaf is laughed at and disregarded in social gatherings.

In conclusion, we can say that the greater the oppression, the stronger is the need for rebellion and expression. Denial or repression of sexual urges may lead to unconventional relationships as the one between Rabbu and Begum Jan. Viewing such holistic relations as unnatural or unacceptable, especially in case of women, is absolutely unjustifiable because they are as normal as the man-woman relations.