Dr. Abir Riad Tahsildar,
English Department, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Lebanese University, Lebanon
This article examines the paradox of female agency and anonymity in Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh (2005), arguing that while the novel appears to celebrate women’s emancipation through digital self-expression, its very reliance on anonymous e-mail narration reveals the enduring power of patriarchal silencing in Saudi society. The narrator’s decision to conceal her identity, even as she exposes the intimate lives of other women, underscores a complex negotiation between empowerment and fear, visibility and censorship. Thus, Girls of Riyadh becomes not merely a tale of liberation but a testament to the incomplete realization of female agency in a culture that continues to control women’s voices. Adopting a feminist literary and postcolonial approach, this study explores how Alsanea’s narrative form reflects the broader struggle of Arab women writers to claim authorship within restrictive cultural frameworks. The methodology is grounded in close textual and thematic analysis, with particular attention to narrative voice, characterization, and the construction of female subjectivity. Drawing on theories of female authorship (Gilbert and Gubar), the politics of voice (Spivak), and cyberfeminism, the research situates Girls of Riyadh within the continuum of Arab women’s literature that oscillates between resistance and compliance. By foregrounding the contradiction between the appearance of voice and the reality of concealment, this article challenges triumphalist readings of Alsanea’s work and instead positions Girls of Riyadh as a reflection of a society in transition—one in which women’s voices are emerging, yet still constrained by the invisible boundaries of patriarchy.
Keywords: Girls of Riyadh, Anonymity, Agency, Patriarchy, Arab Women’s Fiction
The above abstract is a part of the article which was accepted at The 11th International Conference on Languages, Linguistics, Translation and Literature (WWW.TLLL.IR), 1-2 February 2026, Ahwaz.
Full Article of Presentation:
Behind the Screen: Anonymity and the Illusion of Female Agency in Girls of Riyadh
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