The Female Martyr and the Politics of Death: An Examination of the Martyr Discourses of Vibia Perpetua and Wafa Idris

摘要

This essay examines female martyr narratives from two differentntraditions and historical periods to show a pattern between gender, poli-ntics, and martyrdom. In the stories of Vibia Perpetua and Wafa Idris,nmartyrdom gives women access to political participation. The narrativesncrafted about these women and their deaths reflect ambivalence aboutnthis participation, for they tend to reinforce strict gender roles for women.nAn examination of female martyr narratives allows us to compare thenreasons that individuals, who write on behalf of communities, use tonjustify women acting as dealers in death. Martyrs engage in truth-produ-ncing actions through their deaths, and thus these actions must be regu-nlated. Authorities in Islam and Christianity limit the reasons one may killnand be killed; the female martyr represents an interesting case as shentransgresses boundaries of theological traditions and also reinstates them.