A critical discourse analysis of empowering women in Arabic literature : Nawal el-Saddawi's the innocence of the devil as a sample

الملخص EN

This study investigates how women's empowerment is reflected in Arabic literature and considers Nawal El-Saddawi's The Innocence of the Devil as a Sample.

Critical discourse analysis is used as a method for studying some selected extracts.

The model adopted is an eclectic one.

The approaches of Fairclough (1989, 2003) and Van Dijk (2000, 2003) were utilized to examine the data of the study.

The analysis involves three levels of analysis: descriptive, interpretation and explanation.

The current study aims to critically analyze the novel on the three levels of analysis in order to highlight the ideological strategies used and to find out how ideology affects the author's mind and language.

It is hypothesized that the discourse of women's empowerment in Arab countries is still in its early stages.

Yet, Arab women, like all feminist movements, made sure to let their voice reach the edge of the world because many vocal Arab female writers have written different works that deal with women's rights and gender equality.

Data analysis shows that El- Saddawi tackles various societal and religious aspects, such as education, sexuality, and tradition in which women's submission to and revolution against violence are found.

The study has come up with findings that validate the set hypotheses.