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SUMMARY:Love as understanding: marriage\, aspiration and the joint family 
 in middle-class Pakistan - Dr Ammara Maqsood(UCL)
DTSTART:20190313T170000Z
DTEND:20190313T180000Z
UID:TALK116494@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Barbara Roe
DESCRIPTION:In middle-class Pakistan\, where marriage is the prescribed fu
 ture for all women\, but premarital contact between the sexes is discourag
 ed\, finding the right partner\, without visibly flouting social norms\, r
 equires a skilful balancing act between private interests and aspirations\
 , and public representations and collective concerns. Young women often na
 vigate these conflicting demands by developing\, what they call\, an under
 standing: a secret premarital relationship that is “normalised” by inv
 olving family at a later stage to orchestrate an arranged marriage. Throug
 h a focus on understandings\, this article illustrates how love engages th
 e “ethical imagination” and provides a site for experiencing pleasures
  and desires. Understandings opens a space to self-make and secure a futur
 e in face of considerable patriarchal control\, however with little libera
 tory potential as success\, in terms of marriage outcome\, depends upon a 
 concealment of agency\, and futures remained tied to collective support.
LOCATION:Seminar Room SG1\, Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambri
 dge CB3 9DT
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