After Nashra Balagamwala turned 21, the pressure from her family to get married to a nice boy increased with each passing day. Not only did Nashra leave any stone unturned to look for black marks in the suitors’ resumes to turn them down, she also tried every trick possible to make herself come across as unsuitable for marriage. “I’ve gone out in the sun to tan and make myself darker; I’ve worn fake engagement rings to others’ weddings; I’ve also cut my hair really short,” she reveals.
Nashra Balagamwala
Even when the pressure peaked, Nashra did not give in. Instead, she vented her frustration through creativity — she designed a board game! In the fun game, the participants take on the roles of aunties, whose aim is to marry off young girls, who in turn have to run away from the aunties. This quirky game called Arranged! was officially released last month, and in no time, millions took notice.
Now 24, Nashra, a graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design, is receiving an overwhelming response for the four-player board game. “I’ve got messages from young Pakistani as well as Indian women, thanking me for speaking up about this. Just days after it was released, I got 800 friend requests on Facebook!” she shares.
Talking about how the game works, she explains, “There are about 100 cards. One set for the aunty and one for the girls. The girls could get something like, ‘You’ve been spotted at the contraceptive section of the drug store or the gynaecologist. Go back five steps, etc. Weirdly enough, being spotted at the gynaecologist itself is taboo, even though you may be there for something that’s not related to being sexually active!”
The biggest challenge while making the game, Nashra says, was to be able to communicate the message to an international audience. “I had to constantly think of how to use mainstream alternatives. So instead of saying biryani, I went with chicken tikka masala, because everyone knows that dish.” She also explains that when people from the West, and even South Asian men, play it, they learn more about what happens here. “Indian and Pakistani men have said to me, ‘Oh my god, is this what you guys have to go through to get married to one of us? We’re so sorry!’”
Coming from a conservative family, how did Nashra’s parents react to this big step? She laughs and says, “They’re confused! But also happy that their daughter is being appreciated from people all around the world.”
Not surprisingly, the game, has already received many pre-orders. Nashra plans to use the money from the game to renew her visa and go back to the States, where she used to work at an event design and experiential marketing agency. “I’ll also be donating for girl’s education in Pakistan in hopes that it will help provide girls with independence,” she mentions.
