Gender, Silence, and Resistance: A Subaltern Feminist Analysis of Mahasweta Devi’s Draupadi

Abstract

This article uses a subaltern feminist reading of Mahasweta Devi's short story “Draupadi” to examine gender, silence, and resistance. It claims that silence, typically seen as a symptom of oppression, may be a strong act of opposition in marginalized circumstances. In the study, Dopdi Mejhen, a tribal woman subjected to terrible state violence, represents how subaltern women negotiate power, agency, and identity. The paper uses subaltern studies and feminist theory to show how dominant representation systems fail to capture marginalized women's lives. It shows that gendered violence is both physical and political, controlling subaltern bodies and silencing opposition. Dopdi's reluctance to submit to shame and subordination turns her body into a locus of resistance against patriarchal and state authority. The study also examines how dominant discourses mediate and misinterpret subaltern voices. The study expands female resistance beyond words to include embodied disobedience by reconsidering silence as a relevant strategy. This research reveals that subaltern action, however circumscribed, can disrupt and reconfigure power relations, making Mahasweta Devi's work relevant to gender justice and resistance issues.