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VOL. 11, ISSUE 3 (2025)
A study of trauma and inversion in Tishani Doshi's “After a shooting in a maternity clinic in Kabul”
Authors
Akanksha Pandey
Abstract
This research paper explores Tishani Doshi's
poem, "After a Shooting in a Maternity Clinic in Kabul," focusing on
the theme of women's mental health and investigating how conflict and violence
cause significant psychological harm. This poem was published in her fourth
anthology A God at the Door, published by Copper Canyon Press and
Bloodaxe Books. It was shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Prize 2021. The
article argues that the poem's main theme revolves around the loss of safety,
where a haven “the maternity clinic” transforms into a site of tragedy,
resulting in continuous anxiety and collective trauma among women. In addition,
it also analyses how war aggravates the maternal trauma having an impact across
generations in the form of anguish that arises out of fear of violence. The
study reveals that the overlap of the patriarchal violence and violence out of
warfare, shapes and surges the psychological oppression and it is escalated
into more life-threatening and prolonging situations. This research addresses
the trauma of loss, wherein the lack of proper closure and the absence of
dignified mourning practices lead to an increase in the enduring grief and
hopelessness. The article interprets the poem's striking symbolism which is the
transformation of the orchard from a sign of fertility to one of violence as a
representation of the deep psychological harm that disrupts women's perception
of reality. This analysis offers a close reading and textual analysis of the
poem, asserting that while war is a collective cultural injury for all people
of the state, women have to face its most intrinsic and lasting psychological
effects because they are doubly marginalised, struggling because of their
identities as mothers, daughters, and sisters. They are not seen not as humans
but a weapon in the war which deepens their grief and trauma.
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Pages:37-40
How to cite this article:
Akanksha Pandey "A study of trauma and inversion in Tishani Doshi's “After a shooting in a maternity clinic in Kabul”". International Journal of English Research, Vol 11, Issue 3, 2025, Pages 37-40
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