Women-as-Prostitute-Paradigm in Manto's Short Stories 'The Insult' and 'Behind the Reeds'

Abstract

The paper aims at establishing that Manto for his readers reinforces the idea that women as prostitute are a handiwork of an artificial social order created by and for men where women are transacted, exchanged, traded and stocked in the form of a commodity. The stories selected for this endeavour are 'The Insult' and 'Behind the Reeds.' What is interesting to read is the initial contrast in the location of the two different women. The author has heavily relied on LuceIrigaray's thesis of 'Woman on the Market' but goes a step further to use the stories as a tool in answering the question that Irigaray leaves unanswered.