Examining the Role of Gender in the Experience of Migration (Differences in Male and Female Perspectives) Based on the Novels Stick Land, The Well of Babel, Who Believes Rostam, and A Shawl as Long as the Silk Road.

Samkhaniani, Afsaneh; Hasanpouralashti, Hussein; Ahmadi, Sharam; Ruhani, Masoud

doi:10.22034/jcsc.2025.2079491.2891

Examining the Role of Gender in the Experience of Migration (Differences in Male and Female Perspectives) Based on the Novels Stick Land, The Well of Babel, Who Believes Rostam, and A Shawl as Long as the Silk Road.

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

afsaneh samkhaniani ¹

Hussein hasanpouralashti ²

Sharam Ahmadi ³

Masoud Ruhani ⁴

¹ phD student in persian literature university of mazandaran

² professor of persian Literature university of Mazandaran

³ Associate Professor and Faculty Member at the University of Mazandaran

⁴ Faculty of the University of Mazandaran, Iran

10.22034/jcsc.2025.2079491.2891

Abstract

The lived experiences of migrant writers have become a prominent theme in recent Iranian novels. Over recent decades, Iranian authors have drawn on their encounters with the Western world to produce narratives that depict life in the West and explore the motives and circumstances behind migration as reflected through their characters. This study examines four novels—Who Would Believe Rostam by Rohangiz Sharifian, A Shawl as Long as the Silk Road by Mahasti Shahrokhi, The Land of Slime by Keyvan Arzaghi, and The Babel Well by Reza Ghassemi—with the aim of identifying the perspectives of male and female migrants and analyzing how they describe the positive and negative aspects of both their homeland and the host countries. The findings indicate that most migrant characters hold unfavorable views of their homeland and regard the host country as a source of salvation, despite acknowledging its negative features. A comparison of the four works shows that men primarily migrate due to political pressures, whereas women’s motivations stem from social issues and restrictions. Men tend to criticize the host society for moral permissiveness, patriarchy, and insecurity, while women emphasize cultural differences and gendered perceptions. Both groups, however, value social freedoms, educational opportunities, and the possibility of achieving an ideal life. Emotional attachment to the homeland appears similarly among male and female characters, emerging variably in different narratives.

Keywords

Migration Literature

Gender Role

Contemporary Novel

Homeland

Host Country

Subjects