Politics of/As Representation: The Feminist Poetics of Fatima Mernissi and Assia Djebar

As someone who until the 70's had worked primarily on class and political economy, it was the Pakistani military coup that brought not only another military regime but also an Islamist general - Zia ul Haq - to power, that I turned my attention to women's struggles. It was this turn, and the emergence of a nationwide feminist movement that brought me to the work of Fatima Mernissi and Assia Djebar, both from North Africa. In my paper, I address several themes: the on-going necessity to take seriously one's address, both material and discursive; and the relation of struggles to space and time. It is not a coincidence that Mernissi and Djebar both have texts that use 'Shehrezade' in their titles, and others that complicate and trouble history. It is also worth noting that Mernissi - a sociologist - turned to (auto)biography and history; and Djebar - a historian and a writer of stories - turned to film when language itself became a problem. By refusing disciplining and disciplinary power each leaves a powerful feminist legacy guiding us into the future, one I hope to tease out.