Negation and Female Characterization in Ziauddin Yousafzai’s Let Her Fly: A Pragmatic Approach

This paper analyses negation as a stylistic and pragmatic device in Ziauddin Yousafzai's Let Her Fly, used to construct female characters and foreground the marginalization of women within Pakistani society. By leaving out traits and roles, negation highlights identities that are ignored. Using Lisa Nahajec's theoretical model, which conceptualizes negation through presupposition, expectation, and implicature, the analysis reveals that meaning often resides not in what is explicitly stated but in what is denied. Negation in the memoir challenges gender roles by foregrounding the invisibility of women. Identifying and interpreting these linguistic absences uncovers ideological and cultural trends shaping the narrative and the reader's perception of gendered experience. The text compels readers to confront unspoken assumptions. This focus on what is unsaid transforms negation into a tool not only of literary characterization but also of cultural resistance. The study shows that negation questions power and contributes to meaning-making in stylistics and pragmatics.