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Polygence Scholar2024
Sohani Das's profile

Sohani Das

Simsbury High SchoolClass of 2024Weatogue, CT

About

Hello! My name is Sohani and my Polygence project is about the the impact of arranged and forced marriages on autonomy and agency for young South, Middle Eastern and Caucasian women in Britain. I chose to work on this project because I am deeply passionate about learning more about this thousand-year-old tradition and question its prevalence in cultures around the globe as love is not the impetus behind this form of marriage, but honor.

Projects

  • "The Absence of Autonomy and Agency on Young Women Amongst the South Asian and MENA Diaspora in Modern-Day Arranged Marriages" with mentor Amber (Jan. 23, 2023)

Sohani's Symposium Presentation

Project Portfolio

The Absence of Autonomy and Agency on Young Women Amongst the South Asian and MENA Diaspora in Modern-Day Arranged Marriages

Started Aug. 4, 2022

Abstract or project description

Forced marriages, by definition, are defined by the union of two parties that marry for a host of reasons—whether out of convenience, coercion or honor—and are characterized by their lack of will or informed consent, and included under this definition would also be child marriage. Within the context of the South Asian and MENA community,

Honor killings or honor-based abuse are just one of the many by-products of such a union, and often may be the sole agent that characterizes the very consequences of rejection or refusal to be beholden to marital customs tied to a woman’s sense of filial obligation and acquiescence to long-standing tradition.

RQ: How do arranged marriages limit the autonomy and agency of young women in the South Asian and MENA context? How have honour killing and abusive behavior been exonerated through the guise of culture?