STATUS OF WOMEN IN KHUSHAL KHAN KHATTAK’S WORK

Abstract

Throughout history, women have endured marginalization, abuse, and direct assaults in various aspects of life. This includes areas such as schooling, medical care, reproductive rights, employment, and even weddings, all within a relentlessly patriarchal society. Women have been severely suppressed and subordinated as a result of these cultural prejudices. This research paper addresses how the status of women in a patriarchal society has been represented in the work of a versatile genius, poet, political theorist, academic intellectual, and educationist of his age, Khushal Khan Khattak. This study is fundamentally based on the Qualitative Content Analysis of desk research of secondary data, utilizing sources such as books, academic papers, and online documents, among others. This paper examines the work of Khushal and finds that Khushal treats women as commodities of men. He humiliates their age, criticizes their free will, and treats them like animals. He compares them with prostitutes and fighting instruments and legitimizes honor killing against them, etc. This study emphasizes the need to undertake further detailed research on the status of women in Pakhtun society. Such research can be used to give voice to voiceless women whose voices have never been heard in Pashtun society before and to elevate their status in society.