A critical analysis of power and gender discourses in the short stories of Iranian women writers from 2000 to 2010 (Arstoie, Pirzad, Vafi)

The years 2000-2010 made a period of fundamental changes in the dominant discourses of power in Iran. The rivalry between the two discourses of reformationsim and conservatism created a gap in the ruling hegemony and brought about the possibility for Iranian citizens to rethink their rules and functions in the society and to redefine their individual identities. One of the social groups among which the effects of these political and social changes can be observed is that of female writers. This study takes on to study six stories by three eminent female writers of the 2000s decade (Shiva Arastoui, Zoya Pirzad, and Fariba Vafi) with a critical discourse analysis approach. As the main result, this study demonstrates that the transformation of the ruling discourses of power and gender has had a direct effect on the points of view, narrative styles, and subjects of these stories. Employing the first-person point of view, and a female narrator indicates that women have gained a voice significantly more powerful than the past. Addressing issues regarding the problems and concerns of women from various social classes and using straightforward, linear narratives, female writers create a social awareness of the needs and situations of this minoritized gender and also attract a wider audience. On the other hand, as the change of the ruling discourses has had a direct effect on the works of female writers, the latter have, in turn, used writing as a social act and a means for applying their power in order to gradually change the discourses of power and gender through a critique of the existing gender stereotypes