In Full Force

Author Sabyn Javeri on the heroes and antiheroes of her book

Many believe that one of the two protagonists in your book, Rani Shah, is a parallel to Benazir Bhutto. Do you agree?

It is limiting for an author to be slotted by their nationality and for their work to be defined by their country. For me, the book is an amalgamation of different female leaders. It will be too boring to focus on one person’s life when there are so many elements to draw inspiration from all around us. If I wanted to write about one particular person, I would have done a biography.

So what are these ‘elements’ that inspired Rani Shah and Naazo’s characters?

Rani Shah is a scion of political dynasty and her challenge is how to hold on to power—a lot like Khalida Zia of Bangladesh, Indira Gandhi of India, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, while Naazo rises from the ashes much like Mayawati, Jayalalitha, Mamata Banerjee—they had a challenging, sometimes scandalous journey to power. They are the underdogs. ● June, 2017

Do women of power share common traits?

To be honest, there aren’t any shared traits. The common denominator would be the particular class. I explore class as a theme in the novel—how it plays a role in identity and gender politics. We have Naazo, who struggles more than the other woman since she is from the wrong class and is the underdog. She has to use sex as a currency to rise up the ranks. Meanwhile Rani Shah has expectations attached to her, she cannot deviate from the path chosen for her by her family.

You are fascinated by the concept of an anti hero.

They are anti-heroes as opposed to villains. Often in our society we are expected to be either saints or devils, and women in power have a certain stigma attached to their rise. People will never acknowledge the fact that here is a woman from humble origins who had to start from scratch. The character Naazo in my book, acts just like a man would—she uses men, discards them, is corrupt, is crooked, will do whatever it takes to get to the top. If her character was a man, Naazo wouldn’t be seen as a villain. A lot of people call her the antagonist, not even the protagonist. This play of gender roles fascinated me.

Time and again, women are told that they can be ambitious, but not too ambitious. Take the example of Qandeel Baloch, the Pakistani entertainer who was murdered for being outspoken.

Qandeel Baloch wasn’t the ideal ‘Muslim woman’ for a lot of people. She broke the stereotype—that a Muslim woman covers her hair, is submissive and a total doormat. Women do have these mothering roles attached, but they shouldn’t give up their rights to be mothers and homemakers, men also need to pitch in. Women are expected to be supermoms, superheroes, go to work, raise children, cook, work, but men are the way they are. They need to evolve. That is feminism, that is gender parity.