Summary Of Keep Away From The Matchmaker By Nashra Balagamwala

Marriage is generally thought of as a celebration of a life accomplishment in the U.S. Conversely, in Pakistan, Nashra Balagamwala describes marriage as a trap that she has been evading most of her life. The NPR article “To Win This Board Game, Keep Away From the Matchmaker” written by Diaa Hadid, describes Balagamwala’s motivation for creating the game. Nashra explains the process of arranged marriages in her home country. There matchmakers, colloquially known as Rishta Aunty, devote their time to setting up arranged marriages. Having seen the humor in her own avoidance of the Aunty, Nashra designed the board game. Yet, the aspect of humor is merely a tint on institution of arranged marriages. This system brings with it societal expectations that denigrate and oppress women. Hadid describes the ideal bride to be as being thin, pale, educated, and submissive.
As Hadid described the ideal woman in Pakistan, the emphasis was on attractiveness and submission, while the ideal man’s traits included prestige and earning potential. Crawford (2012, p. 235) explains a similar ideology in U.S. traditional marriages, and across cultures, with a focus on women’s physical characteristics and men’s status. While views on traditional marriage, one where the husband holds the greater authority, have shifted in recent years (Crawford, 2012, p. 236 - 237), this type of arrangement still exists in our society with minimal criticism. Similarly, Hadid writes that in Pakistan there is a slight shift away from the customary arranged marriage system. Today, more adults are meeting each other on their own, deciding to get married, and then asking the family to set-up the arrangement. This is seen as a sign of respect towards tradition. Nonetheless, it may also have the effect of preserving other more oppressive aspects of the