MIDDLE-CLASS BRITISH-PAKISTANI WOMEN IN MANCHESTER A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities. 2017 NOREEN MIRZA SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Table of Contents Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... 2 Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Declaration .................................................................................................................................... 5 Copyright Statement ..................................................................................................................... 5 Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 7 General introduction ................................................................................................................. 7 Why British-Pakistanis? ............................................................................................................. 9 Prejudice ................................................................................................................................. 16 Intersecting identities ............................................................................................................. 19 Conceptual considerations ..................................................................................................... 26 Middle-class Identity ............................................................................................................... 30 Working as a native Anthropologist ....................................................................................... 32 The seeming invisibility of men .............................................................................................. 34 Fieldwork and participants ..................................................................................................... 36 Structure of thesis ................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 2 - Being a British-Pakistani Muslim ...................................................................... 42 Chapter 3 – Ladies’ Night .................................................................................................... 43 Chapter 4 – Fashionable piety ............................................................................................ 44 Chapter 5 – A dutiful daughter-in-law ................................................................................ 44 Chapter 6 – A caring daughter ............................................................................................ 44 Chapter 2. The experiences of being a British-Pakistani Muslim ............................................... 46 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 46 Islamophobia and the role of the media ................................................................................ 50 Everyday living with Islamophobia ......................................................................................... 56 Breaking down barriers ........................................................................................................... 64 The role of the mosque and being British Muslim .................................................................. 69 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 3. The Ladies’ Night ....................................................................................................... 76 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 76 The importance of British-Pakistani identity .......................................................................... 78 Ladies' Night ............................................................................................................................ 82 2 Pakistani culture as a source of class distinction and cultural capital .................................... 90 Dinner at the Ladies Night event .......................................................................................... 100 The impact of wealthy Pakistani nationals ........................................................................... 102 Entertainment ....................................................................................................................... 105 The drive home ..................................................................................................................... 107 Chapter 4. Fashionable piety .................................................................................................... 109 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 109 Visual piety ............................................................................................................................ 110 Fashionably pious.................................................................................................................. 115 Religious classes at the mosque ........................................................................................... 119 The importance of Islam to women ...................................................................................... 125 The phenomenon of Farhat Hashmi ..................................................................................... 132 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 143 Chapter 5. A dutiful daughter-in-law ........................................................................................ 146 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 146 Family hierarchies ................................................................................................................. 147 Dutiful daughters-in-law ....................................................................................................... 149 Altruism and antagonism ...................................................................................................... 155 The merits of in-laws ............................................................................................................. 160 Changes in expectations ....................................................................................................... 164 The changing attitudes of third-generation British-Pakistanis ............................................. 169 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 174 Chapter 6. A loving daughter .................................................................................................... 176 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 176 Ambition ............................................................................................................................... 179 Amber’s mother Jamila ......................................................................................................... 182 Gazala’s mother Naheed ....................................................................................................... 189 Hina’s mother Misbah ........................................................................................................... 195 Farah’s mother Khalida ......................................................................................................... 199 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 205 Chapter 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 206 Reference List ............................................................................................................................ 215 Final word count: 78,142 words 3 Abstract The University of Manchester Noreen Mirza PhD Social Anthropology Middle-class British-Pakistani Women in Manchester May 2017 My ethnographic research concerned middle class British Pakistani women in Manchester. Although a great number of studies has be done on working–class Pakistanis in Britain, I have come across very few studies on socially mobile British- Pakistanis. Literature on working-class Pakistanis in Britain have dealt with issues of marginalisation, prejudice and discrimination. The aim of my research is to bring to light the experiences of prejudice and discrimination from the perspective of middle- class British-Pakistanis.