“Baleful Postcoloniality” and Palestinian Women’s Life Writing

This article considers the relationship between the concept of “baleful postcoloniality” and Palestinian women’s life writing. “Baleful postcoloniality” is explored in relation to two particular issues: a succession of foreign occupations of Palestinian territory—especially the period of Israeli hegemony—and the traditional economy of gender relations governing Palestinian society. The article analyzes how Palestinian women life-writers express and resist these manifestations of “baleful postcoloniality” in both gender-specific and nationalist terms.