The Criterion: An International Journal in English

Volume 17, Issue 5 · October 2026 · ISSN 0976-8165

Maternal Grief, Enforced Disappearance and State Violence in Shahnaz Bashir’s The Half Mother

Mohammad Dilshad

Digital Object Identifier

https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.6

This paper examines maternal grief, enforced disappearance, and state violence in The Half Mother, situating the text within the context of conflict-ridden Kashmir and explaining the disastrous impact of militarisation and forced disappearances on common families. The paper explores the psychological and emotional trauma of the victims’ families who are left in an uncertain and unresolved grieving condition. Through trauma and postcolonial theory, this paper analyses how Bashir employs literary narrative to portray the gender-specific suffering of women and the silencing of women’s voices. The novel reflects the courage of mothers who challenge institutional silence and systemic violence through their continuous struggle to find the truth and seek justice. The paper also examines how memory, trauma, and symbolism represent experiences of loss and uncertainty. The paper highlights how the novel reveals the humanitarian price of political conflict and redefines loss and survival.

Dilshad, Mohammad. “Maternal Grief, Enforced Disappearance and State Violence in Shahnaz Bashir’s The Half Mother.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 5, Oct. 2026, pp. 71-87, https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n5.6.

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