“Unarranged” by Devjani Paul was probably my favorite piece in all of the Teen Ink issues I’ve read. A fictional story, Devjani writes about the patriarchy that takes place in her culture and her opinion about it. The main character, Aruhi, one day comes home, all to find that her future husband has been chosen for her without her consent. Furious that her parents had done so despite her protests, Aruhi puts on “the performance of a lifetime.” She responds to the bachelor’s parents with a “Hey, how are you?” and continues to baffle the Sharma family. The continuing events had me cheering our protagonist on.

    Having friends who are strong feminists can really put emphasis on the way you look at things; so, while I was reading about Aruhi fighting for her marriage rights, I couldn’t help but cheer along for her in my head. In my opinion, I do not think patriarchy, or arranged marriage, is a practice that should be used; and it seems that Devjani agrees. The one thing I really liked about the piece was the ending; although it was heart- breaking, I definitely got a sense of Aruhi and Devjani’s culture. Devjani’s piece really reached out to me as to how women in her culture have limited rights, as she writes, “ ‘Don’t I have a choice?’ [My mother] heaved a sigh. ‘Aruhi, how many times do I have to tell you,’ she cupped my cheeks in her soft hands. ‘That’s not how things work.’”