Reflecting the power of activists in the formation of different types of identity in the novel "Bird Tattoo" by Donya Mikhail based on the theory of Manuel Castells

This study aims to explore and analyze the reflection of power relations and the influence of social actors in the formation and construction of identity in the novel The Bird Tattoo (Washm al-Ta’ir) by Dunya Mikhail. Given the significance of approaching literature from a sociological perspective, the research is directly grounded in the theoretical framework of Manuel Castells, who classifies identity based on power dynamics into three main types: legitimizing identity, resistance identity, and project identity. The study employs a descriptive-analytical approach to trace these patterns and apply them accurately to the novel’s events and active characters. The findings highlight how legitimizing identity is constructed through the systematic practices of the ISIS organization. The group imposed its comprehensive hegemony and justified its oppressive authority with religious and economic slogans by utilizing technology and social media platforms. Furthermore, the organization deliberately altered the urban, cultural, and educational structures of Mosul, practiced symbolic and physical violence, and enforced new discursive implications. It coercively reshaped the identity of captive Yazidi women by commodifying them, dehumanizing them, and obliterating their historical memory. Conversely, resistance identity emerges as an inevitable and natural reaction to this extreme hegemony, clearly manifesting in the collective behaviors of the captive women who refused absolute submission to attempts at erasure and annihilation. These women formed effective secret solidarity and communication networks, such as the Families of the Abductees network, as a psychological and social mechanism to defend their survival, preserve human dignity, and protect their cultural identity from disintegration.