Abstract Book of the 7th Global Conference on Women’s Studies
Year: 2025
[PDF]
Arbiya, a short story
Dr. Hamida Riahi
ABSTRACT:
This short story offers a poignant exploration of regionalism and class-based gender oppression as experienced by a young woman from northwestern Tunisia navigating university life in the capital. Through a confessional, autobiographical narrative voice, the story sheds light on the socio-economic and cultural alienation the protagonist endures in a space dominated by elite privilege and patriarchal surveillance. The protagonist’s marginality, shaped by her rural origins and economic precarity, subjects her to multiple layers of humiliation, hunger, and vulnerability—from the inability to afford basic necessities and study materials to encounters with predatory men and moral policing within the university dormitory. The text critically examines the intersection of regional discrimination and gender inequality, portraying how the female body becomes a site of class struggle and social misrecognition. Fragmented memories of childhood poverty and indebtedness in her village further deepen the narrative’s meditation on social mobility, dignity, and the residual trauma of systemic marginalization. Through its vivid realism and intimate perspective, the story becomes a testimonial act that reclaims voice and agency in the face of entrenched social hierarchies and cultural biases.
Keywords: regionalism, gender discrimination, sexual exploitation, trauma