ENVISIONING ALTERNATIVE WORLDS: FEMINIST FUTURITY, GENDER POLITICS, AND SOCIAL REIMAGINATION IN MANJULA PADMANABHAN'S ESCAPE AND THE ISLAND OF LOST GIRLS

Abstract

Gender-based violence remains one of the most pervasive manifestations of patriarchal power, shaping social structures, bodily autonomy, and the lived experiences of women across cultures. Contemporary feminist science fiction responds to these realities by imagining alternative worlds that expose, critique, and challenge systems of gendered oppression. Situated within this framework, Manjula Padmanabhan's Escape (2008) and The Island of Lost Girls (2015) employ speculative and dystopian settings to interrogate the consequences of misogyny, female infanticide, reproductive control, and the commodification of women's bodies. Through their imaginative engagement with future societies, these novels reveal how gendered violence is embedded within political, technological, and social institutions.

This paper examines how Padmanabhan constructs alternative worlds not merely as dystopian warnings but as critical spaces for feminist resistance and social reimagination. Drawing upon feminist science fiction criticism and feminist dystopian theory, the study argues that the novels transform speculative futures into sites where dominant patriarchal narratives are contested, and alternative possibilities are envisioned. In Escape, the near-erasure of women from society foregrounds the devastating consequences of systemic gender violence, while The Island of Lost Girls explores the ethical and social implications of technological interventions in reproduction and identity formation. By foregrounding female agency, survival, and resistance, both texts challenge gender hierarchies and imagine more equitable social arrangements.

The paper further contends that Padmanabhan's speculative narratives contribute to contemporary debates on gender justice by demonstrating how science fiction can function as a mode of social critique and feminist intervention. Thus, the novels highlight the structural nature of gendered violence while simultaneously envisioning transformative futures beyond patriarchal constraints.