Re-Narrating Subaltern History in Bapsi Sidhwa’s The Pakistani Bride.

Bapsi Sidhwa’s The Pakistani Bride is a significant postcolonial and feminist
text that exposes the oppression of women within patriarchal tribal societies in
Pakistan. The novel redefines the subaltern experience through the life of Zaitoon, a
young girl trapped between modern urban culture and rigid tribal traditions. This
research article examines how Sidhwa reconstructs women’s history through themes
of gender oppression, partition trauma, identity crisis, honour politics, and resistance.
The study also explores the contrast between tribal and urban cultures through the
characters of Zaitoon and Carol. Using feminist and postcolonial perspectives, the
article argues that Sidhwa transforms the silenced voices of women into narratives of
survival and resistance. The paper further analyses the symbolic use of the bridge,
mountains, and journey as metaphors for freedom and selfhood.