Womanhood in the Politics of Everyday: Gender, Resistance, and Silence in Zoya Pirzad’s Literature

This study examines gender representations in the works of Iranian author Zoya Pirzad, focusing on Se Ketâb (2018 [2001]), Çerağhâ Râ Men Hâmûş Mî Konem (Işıkları Ben Söndürürüm, 2008 [2002]), and We’ll Get Used to It (Âdet Mî Konîm, 2018 [2004]). Situating these texts within the broader context of the Iranian women’s movement, the study explores how Pirzad’s female characters navigate and subtly resist patriarchal norms through everyday practices. Using thematic analysis, the research identifies how domestic spaces, such as kitchens and living rooms, operate not only as sites of constraint but also as arenas of quiet resistance. Drawing on Joan Acker’s theory of gendered institutions, Raewyn Connell’s concept of gender order, and Stuart Hall’s theory of representation, the study shows that silence, repetition, and emotional labour serve as tools of agency for women within these narratives. Pirzad’s fiction reveals the complex dynamics of gender in contemporary Iran, highlighting the political potential of the mundane. Her female characters engage in “quiet revolutions†that reflect a localised, culturally embedded form of feminism shaped by subtle acts and persistent endurance.