Michelle Kadarusman’s Views on Slum Areas and Spatial Justice in Girl of the Southern Sea
Keywords:
Kadarusman, spatial justice, postcolonial feminism, Jakarta, gendered spaceAbstract
This study examines Michelle Kadarusman’s Girl of the Southern Sea as a literary reimagining of spatial injustice and gendered marginality within Jakarta’s slum environments. Drawing upon Soja’s spatial theory and Spivak’s postcolonial feminism, the analysis explores how the novel constructs female agency through the intersections of physical space, imagination, and social resistance. By integrating qualitative textual analysis and thematic coding, the study identifies the ways Kadarusman redefines the slum from a site of deprivation into one of resilience and transformation. The findings demonstrate how literary narratives can expose urban inequality and generate ethical awareness regarding the lived experiences of marginalized women in postcolonial contexts. As an interdisciplinary dialogue on gender, spatial justice, and literary urbanism, this study advances the role of literature in cultivating inclusive imaginaries and gender sensitive-policymaking.
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