Sharan-Jeet Shan Rebelled Against Her Sikh Family In India

Autobiography tells the story of an Indian woman’s resistance to family authority, her arranged marriage and life in England, and her Sikh faith.

An Anglia Television news report about Sharan-Jeet Shan, seen with her two sons at their home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. She is seen surrounded by books, and commutes daily to Birmingham where she works as an Educational Project Worker. She has written a book ‘In My Own Name: An Autobiography’ about her experiences of an arranged marriage and being sent from India to live in England with a husband she could not love. She feels that she has spent the past 20 years in isolation in the UK, in her marriage and then continuing to raise her sons alone. Sharan-Jeet Shan says that she faced problems firstly as woman, then as a black woman encountering racism, and as a single parent. She wonders why those who arranged her marriage completely stopped communicating with her. Sharan-Jeet Shan wrote her book to help other Asian families and she recommends that they stay positive and assertive and keep their cultural roots. She says that an arranged marriage which considers the feelings of both parties can be successful, and because of the initial commitment, can be more successful than a western love marriage. She has found strength through her Sikh faith, her sons, and her stubborn personality. The reporter was Owen Spencer-Thomas for this video made to be shown in a news story on Anglia Television early evening news / magazine programme About Anglia.

Keywords

Autobiographies; Families; Religion; Arranged marriages; Racism; Single parent families; Academics

Background Information

‘In My Own Name: An Autobiography’ by Sharan-Jeet Shan was published by Women’s Press in 1985 and by Cambridge University Press in 1990. Book description: ‘Sharan-Jeet Shan is a teacher who lives with her two sons in Milton Keynes. But she grew up in New Delhi, India, the daughter of a Sikh army officer. From childhood, Sharan-Jeet had a mind of her own. She chafed against the restrictions of her status as a girl, subject to the authority now of her father, in the future of a husband. So she set out to train as a doctor. But when she fell in love with a Muslim the full wrath of her family descended upon her, she was taken out of medical school, locked up, beaten, and eventually forced into marriage. The story of how she continued to struggle to assert her own autonomy, make a success of her marriage and establish a home of her own in a strange country is one of extraordinary courage, faith and determination. Sharan-Jeet's story is exceptional. But it speaks to many women, white and black, living and working in Britain.’