Agency of the Subaltern

The words of Shingali Ezidi women themselves are the primary subject in this chapter about actualising agency by way of subaltern identities.763 Shingali Ezidi murid women are on the fringes of almost every circle of society within which they exist. Within these fringes, they can still demonstrate agency, but it is an agency specifically associated with their subaltern identity. Ezidis, particularly Shingali murid women, are able to utilise their subaltern identities to demonstrate new agencies and, simply put, gain power. The following pages contain examples of women utilising their identitites—many associated with a lack of power—to actualise agency, to transmit agency, and to endow their children with agency.