Navigating the Everyday As Middle-Class British-Pakistani Women : Ethnicity, Identity and Belonging

This ethnographic study of middle-class British-Pakistani women in Manchester explores the sense of belonging they create through recognition and social status. Belonging in these communities is enacted through the performance of different identities--class, ethnicity, nationality, generation, age, religion, and gender--that earn them social power and status among family and friends. To prove they are "model migrants," worthy of respect and recognition, these women perform various and intersecting identities to maximize status and social capital in diverse situations. Far from being passive victims of racial, religious, or cultural discrimination, middle-class British-Pakistani women challenge prejudice against Muslims and British-Pakistanis through certain practices, objects, performances, and relationships, serving as ambassadors for their religious and ethnic identity through their conduct and interaction with others in daily life Acknowledgments 6 Contents 8 1 Introduction 9 Why British-Pakistanis? 11 Working as a Native Anthropologist 18 Fieldwork and Participants 21 Outline of Chapters 25 Chapter 2—Conceptual Considerations 25 Chapter 3—The Experiences of a British-Pakistani Muslim 25 Chapter 4—A Mother’s Love 26 Chapter 5—The Social Role of Dutiful Daughter-in-Law 27 Chapter 6—Performance of a British-Pakistani Identity 27 Chapter 7—Class and Piety 28 References 30 2 Conceptual Considerations 32 Middle-Class Identity 32 Prejudice 35 Intersecting Identities 37 Theoretical Underpinnings 43 References 47 3 The Experiences of a British-Pakistani Muslim 51 Acceptance and Belonging 52 Islamophobia and the Role of the Media 56 Prejudice 61 Shattering Negative Stereotypes 68 The Role of the Mosque and Being British Muslim 72 Conclusion 77 References 80 4 A Mother’s Love 85 Ambition 88 Amber’s Mother Jamila 91 Gazala’s Mother Naheed 98 Hina’s Mother Misbah 104 Farah’s Mother Khalida 108 Conclusion 112 References 115 5 The Social Role of a Dutiful Daughter-in-Law 118 Family Hierarchies 119 Dutiful Daughters-in-Law 121 Altruism and Antagonism 126 The Merits of In-Laws 131 Changes in Expectations 134 The Changing Attitudes of Third-Generation British-Pakistanis 139 Conclusion 143 References 146 6 Performance of a British-Pakistani Identity 148 The Significance of British-Pakistani Identity 150 Pakistani Nationals 152 Pakistani Culture as a Source of Class Distinction and Cultural Capital 155 Ladies Night 158 Culture, Respectability, Conviviality and Competition 168 The Drive Home 174 References 178 7 Class and Piety 181 Visual Piety 182 Fashionably Pious 186 Religious Classes at the Mosque 189 The Phenomenon of Farhat Hashmi 194 Islamic Revivalism and Islamic Feminism 200 Conclusion 205 References 209 8 Conclusion 212 Reference 220 References 221 Index 236 Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction (Noreen Mirza)....Pages 1-23 Conceptual Considerations (Noreen Mirza)....Pages 25-43 The Experiences of a British-Pakistani Muslim (Noreen Mirza)....Pages 45-78 A Mother’s Love (Noreen Mirza)....Pages 79-111 The Social Role of a Dutiful Daughter-in-Law (Noreen Mirza)....Pages 113-142 Performance of a British-Pakistani Identity (Noreen Mirza)....Pages 143-175 Class and Piety (Noreen Mirza)....Pages 177-207 Conclusion (Noreen Mirza)....Pages 209-217 Back Matter ....Pages 219-239