Trauma and Psychological Loss: A Feminist Study of Alice Walker's Possessing the Secret of Joy.

The present paper focuses on the issue of Female Genital Circumcision in Alice Walker's Possessing the Secret of Joy. Female Genital circumcision, also known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), refers to as the traditional practice / ritual of the partial or total removal of the external genitalia. This procedure has no medical benefits for women and girls and can only cause injury to the Female Genital organ. The main aim behind practicing Female circumcision is to enslave women, control the female sexuality, and prevent her from enjoying sexual pleasure. Alice Walker in her novel Possessing the Secret of Joy portrait a fictional character Tashi, who is the protagonist of the novel, faces endless struggle after circumcision. She developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after circumcision. This novel depicts the pain, suffering, oppression, and psychological trauma that women face after going through this barbaric practice. The present research is justified through the light of Trauma theory. The aim of this paper is to show how this practice denies the victim sexual pleasure, how they are being traumatized in the name of culture, how this practice crippled the woman for whole life, how this practice psychologically and physically damage women. The finding of this paper demonstrates that through awareness we can abolish this practice. This is achieved only through such kind of feminist debates that helps women to put an end to such practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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