Feminist Perspectives on Marriage and Motherhood in The Fiction of Badriah Albeshr and Atheer Al-Nashmi

Abstract Book of the 3rd International Academic Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities

Year: 2026

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Feminist Perspectives on Marriage and Motherhood in The Fiction of Badriah Albeshr and Atheer Al-Nashmi

Mohammed H Albalawi

ABSTRACT:

Contemporary Saudi literature reflects the growing presence and influence of Saudi women writers, who now venture boldly into diverse spheres of modern life. Among these writers, Badriah Albeshr and Atheer Al-Nashmi stand out for their unreserved engagement with themes such as the pursuit of love, intimacy, and marital failure—subjects once considered socially fraught. Their works also intersect these themes with nuanced portrayals of motherhood. Despite this emerging literary trend, the critical examination of how marriage and motherhood are constructed in Saudi women’s fiction remains limited. Employing a feminist theoretical framework, this study analyzes the representation of marriage and motherhood in selected novels by Albeshr and Al-Nashmi, illuminating the ways in which these authors challenge conventional narratives and articulate women’s lived experiences within the Saudi sociocultural context.

Keywords: Saudi Women; Saudi Novel; Feminism