Female Genital Mutilation, Political Corruption, and Women’s Rights in Saida Hagi Dirie Herzi’s “Against the Pleasure Principle,”, “Government by Magic Spell”, and “The Barren Stick”

Female Genital Mutilation, Political Corruption, and Women’s Rights in Saida Hagi Dirie Herzi’s “Against the Pleasure Principle,”, “Government by Magic Spell”, and “The Barren Stick”

Abstract

This paper is a study of Somali fiction writer Saida Hagi Dirie Herzi’s three short stories: “Against The Pleasure Principle” (1990), which is about female genital mutilation; “Government By Magic Spell” (1992),
which is a criticism of the political corruption; and “The Barren Stick” (2002), which is the story of the strife of a woman in her two marriages.

Saida Hagi Dirie Herzi’s stories delve into the intricacies of several burning issues. It can be described as a treatise advocating for deserting the old ways as the only way to move forward and bring peace and harmony to both the individual and to the Somali society as a whole. Her short stories have one theme in common: the desire for positive change aimed at transforming Somalia into a country characterized by basic human rights and an emphasize on political institutions based on rule of law.