Accegtance. South Asian Parents Seek Approval, Status and Respect and Feel They Deserve It, but They Do So at the Expense of Their Daughters
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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Bhopal, Kalwant Title: The position of South Asian women in households in the UK. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. THE POSITION OF SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN IN HOUSEHOLDS IN THE UK. A thesis submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology, January 1996. Ms Kalwant Bhopal. ABSTRACT The aim of the thesis is to investigate the intersection of gender and ethnicity, with specific reference to South Asian women in Britain. It investigates the dynamics of gender relations in households, in order to explore the differences that exist amongst South Asian women. The focus of the study is the theory of patriarchy. The main question is: what are the different forms of patriarchy that exist for South Asian women in Britain? Sub-questions are: To what extent do religion, education, employment, domestic labour, domestic finance, arranged marriages and dowries influence forms of patriarchy experienced by South Asian women? South Asian was defined as women whose ancestors had originated from the Indian sub- continent. Sixty in-depth interviews were carried out with South Asian women living in East London. The findings indicate different forms of patriarchy can be found in the pattern of South Asian gender relations in Britain. One is an extreme form of private patriarchy, another public patriarchy. Private patriarchy takes place inside the household through arranged marriages, dowries, domestic labour and domestic finance. Public patriarchy takes place outside the household through the state (education) and the labour market (employment). There are four structures of patriarchy: household, state, employment and culture. Religion influenced whether respondents had an arranged marriage and were given a dowry. Women's level of education and their position in the division of labour influenced the forms of patriarchy they experienced. Women with low levels of education were in low positions in the division of labour and experienced private patriarchy, these women were defined as 'Traditional' women. Highly educated women were in high positions in the division of labour, as these women become highly educated, enter employment and move out of households, they experience a more public form of patriarchy. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the 60 women whose lives are represented in the research and for their time and willingness to participate. I would like to thank the Economic and Social Research Council for providing me with financial support to carry out the research. I would sincerely like to thank my supervisor, Professor Sylvia Walby for sharing her expert knowledge and wisdom with me, for always encouraging and supporting me and having the confidence in me to succeed. Thanks to Marie Derby (of Quantime) for her time and effort in producing Labour Force Survey statistics for me. Thankyou to Dr Rohit Barot for all his support and encouragement in the last two years. A big thankyou to all my friends for sticking with me through the process; to Valerie Troop for never allowing me to give up, to Toby Brandon for travelling with me through the journey, to Janet Ramsdale and Kirpal Singh for their support and Doris Otomewo for her time in printing the thesis. Finally, there are two people without whose support this thesis would not have been possible. I would like to thank Martin Myers for accepting me for who I am, for always making me laugh, for believing in me to the very end and most of all for the precious time he spent in proof reading the thesis. I would like to thank my sister Jaswant Bhopal for never letting me down, for her confidence and belief in me and allowing me see the value of my own life. You are my pillar of strength. I would be nothing without you. DECLARATION I declare the work contained in this thesis is my own and the views expressed are my own and not those of the University. Ms Kalwant Bhopal. DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my sister Jaswant Bhopal, who portrays true courage and strength in living her daily life as a South Asian woman. CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES I INTRODUCTION Feminism and 'Race' 1 The Family and Households 6 Patriarchy 7 The Question 9 Areas to be investigated 11 Factors which may influence forms of patriarchy experienced by South Asian women 12 The Research 13 Patriarchy in South Asian Households 14 Plan of Thesis 14 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction 17 The Study of Gender 17 'Race' and Ethnicity 22 Gender, 'Race' and Ethnicity 36 Patriarchy 42 Patriarchy and the Family 46 Domestic Labour 50 Domestic Finance 53 South Asian Family 56 Marriage 62 Arranged Marriages and Dowries 64 Employment, Gender and Ethnicity 72 Households and Married Women's Employment 79 South Asian Households 82 The Welfare State 88 Gender and Education 92 Education, 'Race' and Ethnicity 97 Culture 102 Patriarchy, Sexuality and Violence 108 Religion 109 Conclusion 115 3 METHODOLOGY Introduction 117 The Research Question 117 Methodological Options 118 The Methods Employed: Quantitative and Qualitative Data 121 Sample Size 122 Participant Observation 123 Sampling Frame 123 Options 124 Feminist Methodologies 126 The Method 128 'Woman to Woman' Interviewing - The Influence of 'Race' 132 Access 135 Personal Experience 138 The 'Presentation of Self' 140 Educational Status 141 Power 143 'Giving Voice' 146 Conclusion 146 4 ARRANGED MARRIAGES Introduction 150 Arranged Marriages 150 Marital Status 151 The Definition of an Arranged Marriage 151 The Importance of an Arranged Marriage 154 Type of Contact 160 Own Children and Arranged Marriages 162 Single, Independent Women 165 Cultural View of Single, Independent Women 168 The Significance of Religion, Education and Employment 171 Religion 172 Education 172 Employment 174 Traditional and Independent Women 176 Conclusion 176 5 DOWRIES Introduction 182 Dowries 182 Were Women given a Dowry 182 Definition of a Dowry 183 Description of Dowry 188 Why Dowries are given 190 The Relationship of Women and the giving of Dowries 195 Whether Respondents would give their own children Dowries 200 The Significance of Religion, Education and Employment 203 Religion 203 Education 203 Employment 205 Traditional and Independent Women 207 Conclusion 207 6 DOMESTIC LABOUR Introduction 214 Domestic Labour 214 Who does What? 215 How Much? 217 Who Should do the Housework? 221 Why Women do the Housework in South Asian Communities 224 Is a Woman's Place in the Home? 226 The Cultural Influence of Women being Housewives 229 The Significance of Religion, Education and Employment 232 Religion 232 Education 232 Employment 233 Traditional and Independent Women 235 Conclusion 236 7 DOMESTIC FINANCE Introduction 241 Domestic Finance 241 Type of Account 242 Money for Personal Items 244 Where Funds are obtained to purchase a Washing Machine 246 Decision to spend money earned by Female 248 Whether wife/partner knows her husband/partner's earnings 251 Whether husband/partner knows his wife/partner's earnings 254 What money is spent on by the Female 256 What money is spent on by the Male 257 The Significance of Religion, Education and Employment 259 Religion 260 Education 260 Employment 261 Traditional and Independent Women 263 Conclusion 264 8 ANALYSIS OF LABOUR FORCE SURVEY DATA: A COMPARISON Introduction 267 The Data 267 A Comparison 270 LFS Data 271 Economic Activity 271 Highest Qualification 272 Highest Qualification, Marital Status and Ethnicity 274 The Significance of Religion and Marital Status 276 Economic Activity, Marital Status and Ethnicity 276 Changes Over Time 278 Conclusion 281 9 CONCLUSION Influences on Forms of Patriarchy experienced by South Asian Women 286 Structures of Patriarchy 287 Structures and Forms of Patriarchy 292 APPENDIX 1 - BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF RESPONDENTS 297 APPENDIX 2 - THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE 300 BIBLIOGRAPHY 304 LIST OF TABLES 4.1 Marital Status 4.2 Definition of an Arranged Marriage 4.3 The Importance of an Arranged Marriage 4.4 Type of Contact for Respondents who had an Arranged Marriage 4.5 Own Children and Arranged Marriages 4.6 Single, Independent Women 4.7 Cultural View of Single, Independent Women 4.8 Religious Background of Respondents who had an Arranged Marriage 4.9 The Relationship