Constructing Gender in West Bengal: expectations and outcome

<strong>JNIAS Seminar Series</strong> <strong>Constructing Gender in West Bengal: expectations and outcome</strong> <strong>Lina M Fruzzetti</strong> Brown University, Department of Anthropology <strong>15th Feb 2016</strong> Many young Bengali girls do not accept arranged marriages today; the choice for a marriage partner should rest with them. It is not a matter of whether or not their parents can afford the dowry demanded or "the expected gift" (as it is referred to today); marriageable girls require additional information about the prospective groom prior to the marriage discussions. The consensus amongst these girls is the right to make decision that affects them because their future is theirs alone. Such convictions come with the proviso that no adult impinge on their decision. The talk addresses changes in a muffasil Bengali town and the bearing of these inter-caste and inter-religious unions on the families.