The familial order, not easily undone by Rahnuma Ahmed
Excerpt from 'The familial order, not easily undone' by Rahnuma Ahmed
I sift through feminist and anthropological studies of this region and beyond, to discover the 'traces' of our colonial legacy, thought to be beneficient in social senses ('women's rights,' 'autonomy'), and to understand the institutionalised forces of the West that push us to desire marriage and family relationships that are 'singular.' In the act of doing so, I also draw the attention of self-consciously thinking sections of Bengali society towards their uncritical acceptance of the encroachment of the modernising state, in areas of social life that were previously unregulated. This act of `compiling inventories' in order to `know thyself,' is motivated by what I think is necessary: a critique of social, economic and ideological processes working to effect modernising changes in marriage and family forms in Bangladesh.
I have no answers to the questions that you may confront when you reach the end of this piece. `Answers' as such, can only be the outcome of social and political struggles.
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