ABSTRACT Rather than studying young men's career- and/or economic-based aspirations, this article explores the obstacles that hinder youths of both sexes in gerontocratic southern Tajikistan and North India from developing the capacity to make their own life choices. Focusing mainly on the selection of marital partner and largely on women, I explore the narratives of those who have never even dreamed of a good life, of others who have dreamed but been unable to actualize their dreams, of a few who have started to plan the way forward, and of a tiny number who actually managed to achieve their aspirations, teasing out the influences that facilitate this. I suggest that even educated youths with some control over their public lives are constricted by their family relations and that it requires quite specific support to defy one’s family, which can create significant vulnerabilities in settings with no other safety net.

中文翻译：

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渴望的能力：塔吉克斯坦南部和印度北部的年轻人和性别年龄关系

摘要 本文不是研究年轻男性的职业和/或经济抱负，而是探讨了阻碍老年统治的塔吉克斯坦南部和印度北部的男女青年发展做出自己生活选择的能力的障碍。主要关注配偶的选择，主要是女性，我探讨了那些从未梦想过美好生活的人的故事，其他人有梦想但无法实现梦想的人，少数人已经开始计划前进的道路，以及真正设法实现他们的愿望的少数人，梳理出促进这一目标的影响。我建议即使是对自己的公共生活有一定控制权的受过教育的青年也受到家庭关系的束缚，并且需要非常具体的支持才能违抗家庭，