Gendered Subalternity and Sociocultural Resistance: Tribal Women’s Defiance in Mahasweta Devi’s ‘Giribala’ and ‘Draupadi’

This paper explores how Mahasweta Devi’s short stories Giribala and Draupadi portray the struggles and resistance of tribal women against gendered subalternity. Devi’s narratives highlight the intersections of gender, caste, class, and tribal identity, presenting her female protagonists as both victims of oppression and agents of resistance. In Giribala, a young girl’s journey from exploitation to defiance challenges the commodification of women in patriarchal rural societies. In Draupadi, Dopdi Mejhen transforms her violated body into a site of rebellion against state and patriarchal violence. Through a postcolonial feminist lens, this paper examines how Devi uses silence, refusal, and symbolic confrontation to give voice to the subaltern. It also questions whether the subaltern woman can truly speak within literary discourse or if her resistance lies in disrupting the oppressive gaze. By analyzing these stories, the paper shows how Devi redefines power dynamics and transforms silence into a powerful form of resistance.