Past and present gender dilemma and its role in shaping the future of Asian women in a southern county of the United Kingdom- An ethnographic study

Abstract

This paper investigates the social situation based on gender dilemma of South Asian women who migrated in Buckinghamshire, UK during 1960 and 1990 with their husbands or parents. The research also tries to find out the views of second generation South Asian girls who are born in Buckinghamshire during the study time and how childhood gender conflicts is still affecting their lives. A participatory research based study was made engaging twenty-six Asian women aged between 22 and 85 and from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepali and African Asian background. Participants are from different social and professional background and living in three major towns of Buckinghamshire. The paper is an attempt to outline the gender conflicts within South Asian communities and their journey through it. How it differs between generations and how young generations cope with the differences. This study also focuses on the childhood of young Asian girls after coming to a new country including the tensions between growing up in the UK and traditional expectations of gender role and responsibilities, what are the problems they encountered while growing up in a new country including cultural barriers, linguistic barrier among their parents. It also reveals second-generation's experience while growing up, how they are integrating with wider society and what are the expectations from their own community as well as from wider community. The paper brings out new significance of old age barriers and gender conflicts.