Ecofeminist heterotopias: gendered ecologies, memory, and ecological displacement in Elif Shafak's There Are Rivers in the Sky.

Ecofeminism reveals how ecological degradation and water insecurity have a profound impact on women and marginalized communities, emphasizing that ecology, power, displacement, and social inequality are deeply interconnected. The article proposes "ecofeminist heterotopias" as an analytical framework combining ecofeminism, Astrida Neimanis' Hydrofeminism, and Michel Foucault's concept of heterotopia to study how rivers function as gendered counter-spaces in the novel There Are Rivers in the Sky (2024). The research emphasizes that rivers in the novel do not simply function as ecological elements but are material, spatial, and relational sites where gendered violence, ecological precarity, displacement, and memory converge. Through a close analysis of the select text, the study examines the interconnected narratives of Arthur, Narin, and Zaleekhah traversing different ecofeminist heterotopias like the Thames, the Tigris, and hidden 'ghost rivers' across Victorian London, ancient Mesopotamia, contemporary Iraq and London. The rivers function simultaneously as archives of trauma, resistance, and cultural memory, illustrating the ways in which women and marginalized communities like the Yazidis, face the consequences of ecological destruction and forced displacement. By employing Astrida Neimanis' Hydrofeminism and Foucault's concept of heterotopia, the paper analyses how rivers as spaces that juxtapose incompatible temporalities and geographies material and spatial mediums while revealing the gendered facets of water crisis. This article posits that "ecofeminist heterotopias" provides a distinct analytical contribution to ecofeminist studies by depicting water not only as an ecological body but as an archive of feminist memory and a site of resistance against ecological and gendered violence.