Women are always portrayed as vulnerable creatures and, they have tried their best to change that image. As a result, feminism invaded different genera of literature and dominated females’ linguistic structures. Since discourse “reflects and constructs the social world through many different sign systems” (Rogers, 2011: 1) its types vary according to these systems such as political, economic, scientific, religious and racial. On that basis, feminism must be treated as a kind of discourse for what it carries as a social system. This is also evident in the fact that people tend to use different varieties of language to be recognised in different systems, as Gee (2005: 22) states that discourse unveils ‘who we are’ and he (ibid.) identifies ‘who’ as the “socially situated identity”. Such ways of using language to be recognized and identified are defined as discourse.
Social problems are extravagantly illustrated, highlighted, and signalled in discourse. Critical discourse analysis, for instance, investigates such problems. Women, especially feminists, have always used language as a weapon to defend their power and anchor their domination in a man’s world. Female discourse can be distinguished in terms of a number of strategies used by women writers/speakers. Pinto (2004) asserts that female discourse employs a unique tone that can be seen as “lyrical, realist, assertive, or ambiguous”(p. 6). Based on that, women can shape their discourse in a way that echoes their ideology. This could be the main reason behind a discourse with a rebellious tone, a feminist tone, or an argumentative tone.
Distinguished Arab Feminists: Lady Zainab (PBUH)
Much has been said, viewed and discussed about feminism in the Western world in different fields. However, the Arab world has also known strong women who fought for their rights and never kept silent even if their lives were at stake. Islam has largely empowered feminism and women; well-known women figures had a strong role in Islamic society and its thriving. Since critical discourse analysis focuses on societal inequality, which was a dominant characteristic of the Arab World, Arab feminist discourse is seen to be a fresh ground for such analysis. Women, in the Arab world, have struggled to show power and ideology and they still do. And since we are living in a world of words, women can be weaponized by their own words to thrive in their identity in society. An outstanding role model for strong women who stood against the man in the most horrible conditions ever must be Mohammad’s (PBUH) granddaughter, Lady Zainab (A.S.).
The sermon by Zainab Bint Ali (A.S.), Prophet Mohmmad’s granddaughter, to Yazid at his court took place after the Battle of Karabala when Zainab (A.S.), members of Mohammad’s family (PBUH), and the slaughtered heads of her brothers and of those murdered in the Battle were savagely moved to Syria (historically; the Levant).
The power and the language of this sermon is the reason that makes it remarkably suitable for this analysis. While Yazid was trying to demean her and her family, Zainab (A.S.) managed to demean him and his army. The sermon begins when Yazid asks his soldiers about the identity of the woman who was objecting the brutal behaviour of his men. Zainab (A.S.) starts her speech with the Basmala “Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. May praise be upon my grandfather, the Master of Allah’s messengers” and then quotes the Quranic verse “Then terrible was the end of those who did evil, because they denied (belied) the Verses of Allah and used to mock them“.
Lady Zainab (A.S.) employs powerful language and strategic rhetoric to confront Yazid, beginning with his name to humiliate him and establish equality, despite her status as a prisoner. She frames her arguments with rhetorical questions, often embedding answers or presuppositions, such as invoking Quranic verses and referring to his lineage derogatorily to demean his social standing. Her eloquent and authoritative lexical choices reflect cultural depth, social hierarchy, and the strength of women in power, while some words accuse Yazid of blasphemy and disbelief. Structurally, her speech features complex, prolonged sentences and sophisticated rhetorical questions, emphasizing her intellectual and linguistic dominance.
Bibliography
Gee, James Paul. (2005). An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
Pinto, Christina Ferreira. (2004). Gender, Discourse and Desire in Twentieth-Century Brazilian Women’s Literature. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press.
Rogers, Rebecca. 2011. An introduction to critical discourse analysis in Education. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
