Escaping discourse: a critical analysis of fleeing a forced marriage as a journey of personal transformation

This thesis analyses the process by means of which a participant born and trapped within a strong discourse can engender the necessary agency to facilitate escape from such a discourse. A case study is analysed of a young girl raised within a discourse of forced marriage and honour based subjugation of females who manages to escape the entrapment of this oppression. A three stage process model of 'escaping discourse' constitutes the findings of the thesis, finding relevance within the Foucauldian concept of technologies of the self. The data is analysed using sociocognitive critical discourse analysis and grounded theory.