Evaluation of Women’s Employment in Sahar Khalifeh’s Novel “Abad Al-Shams” Based on the Women’s Empowerment theory

Sahar Khalifeh is a well-known Palestinian novelist whose reputation is mostly for propounding issues related to women and defending their rights. Since women are in the focus of most of her novels, the author's feminist tendencies and topics have attracted many critics. One of the theories that form the basis of the feminist writings of Sahar Khalifeh is the theory of women's empowerment. The employment of women and their economic independence are considered in the novel as the important tools for empowerment. This paper attempts to analyze the employment of women in the novel of Abad Al-Shams based on the theory of empowerment through a descriptive-analytical method. The research findings indicate that Sahar Khalifeh is influenced by the theories in the empowerment field. The poetess seeks to inform women in her community of opportunities such as education and appropriate employment, which they are deprived of or have less access to in comparison to men. The writer is vastly bound to the potentiality of women and is very committed to trying to encourage Palestinian women to increase their participation in social and economic activities by creating heroines who can stand against the discriminatory laws in the society. Also, by referring to such virtues as self-esteem, self-sufficiency and promoting standards of life for heroines, Khalifeh seeks to convert women from passive elements into independent capable agents.