Gender Discrimination as Human Rights Violations in Leila Aboulela’s The Translator and Ellen Banda-Aaku’s Patchwork

Abstract: This article investigates gender discrimination as a form of human rights violation within postcolonial female narratives. Centring on Leila Aboulela’s The Translator and Ellen Banda-Aaku’s Patchwork, the study examines how women in postcolonial societies experience marginalisation, curtailed agency, and systemic silencing. Drawing on feminist postcolonial theory, it demonstrates that these texts do not only portray oppression, but also articulate strategies of resistance that reclaim voice, identity, and dignity. Through close textual analysis, the paper highlights narrative techniques such as interior monologue, symbolism, and first-person perspectives, which female authors employ to challenge patriarchal and cultural hierarchies. Ultimately, the article argues that postcolonial women’s writing bridges literature and human rights discourse, rendering women’s personal struggles visible while inviting readers to engage in ethical reflection on gender justice. By positioning literature as both aesthetic creation and moral intervention, the study contributes to postcolonial and feminist scholarship, underscoring storytelling as a vital vehicle for human rights advocacy.