Book Analysis: “Moving on up: South Asian women and higher education by Yasmin Hussain and Paul...

8/6/2019 Book Analysis: Moving on up: South Asian women and higher education by Yasmin Hussain and Paul Bagguley

1/7

BOOK ANALYSIS

Moving on up: South Asian women and higher education by Yasmin Hussain and Paul

Bagguley

Analysis by Nadir Sharif

A summary of the text:

In Moving on up, Hussain and Bagguley attempt to explore in detail the context in which the

surprising developments among women of South Asian descent have taken place in Britain. The

environment in which these women were being brought up over the last two decades was seen as

restrictive, and one where women would find it difficult to continue onto higher education.

Pakistani parents, in particular, were thought to hold the opinion that women need not obtain

higher education since they will have no use for it once they are married.

Contrary to popular belief and expectations the number of South Asian women in Britain

attending higher education institutes has increased at a rate much greater than the corresponding

rate for white British women. (Table 1.1, Page 11)

In the course of this book, the authors explore the conflicts that arise with the interaction of

national, ethnic and religious identities and the challenges that these conflicts present for South

Asian women in Britain. It is noted that religious identity is a bigger concern for young Muslim

women given the rise of Islamophobia in a post-9/11 world (Page 133).

The affiliation held by Pakistani and Bangladeshi women to their ethno-national identities isfound to be stronger than that held by Indian women. This is attributed in part to the diversity of

language and culture that exists within India which leads to a very abstract Indian identity,

whereas Bangladeshi and Pakistani women can relate more easily to specific groups that are

significant in the respective national identities. (Page 24)

The role played by parents in deciding whether or not their daughters attended college, or what

subjects they studied at the high school level is also discussed in detail. Once again, the authors

focus on parents influence on the decisions of young Muslim women. While there is an

increasing number of parents that want their daughters to continue on to higher education, the

areas of study advocated by these parents are still very traditional.

Law, medicine and other professional degrees were recommended to women by their parents as

they saw the primary objective of obtaining a higher education to be the increasing of earning

potential. While this view led to parents approval of, and encouragement of plans to attend

college, it also meant that young women were, more often than not, pursuing degrees in areas

that they did not like and/or were not capable of performing well in. (Page 84)


2/7

While the interviewees quoted in the book did not look for ethnically diverse environments when

considering what university to attend, they all attended universities that were relatively close to

home (Pages 81, 84-85). This factor, like many other conservative ideals of parents, was more

prominent in Muslim families of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. There was a general concern

on part of the parents that their daughters may become westernized and bring dishonor to the

family by being involved in bad activities orin the worst caseby marrying of their own will

(Pages 92-93). Other factors that limited the choice of universities which young South Asian

women could attend included class-related financial limitations (Pages 107).

It has been highlighted throughout the text that young South Asian women, while restricted by

parental choices, are for the most part not rebellious. They view their ethnic (or ethno-national)

and religious identities as being important parts of their lives. There is an attempt in almost all

cases to negotiate with the parents on all matters, ranging from dress, selection of courses,

decision to attend university, and marriage (Pages 53, 69, 84, and 107).

Varied strategies were employed by students and their parents when it came to financing highereducation. A common denominator amongst all ethnic groups studied in this book was that none

of them were willing to take out loans or use credit cards to support themselves (Page 117). In

some cases, particularly young non-Muslim women of Indian origin, higher education was

financed completely or to a great extent by the students themselves (Page 116).

It was an eye-opener for me to realize the extent to which institutionalized discrimination still

exists in Britain. Five times as many Muslims reported having faced discrimination on the basis

of religion when seeking employment (Page 123). While the number of South Asian women

being accepted into higher education institutes has been on the rise, this rise has not been

reflected proportionally in well-known institutions. In some cases students avoided places likeCambridge and Oxford University even though they were qualified to attend, because they

viewed these institutes as being homogenous and class-specific. In other cases there was

evidence of discrimination within the admissions process at the concerned institutes.

Racism was experienced quite frequently by students, both on and off campus. Many students

were subjected to racist remarks that did not apply to them, for example anti-Islamic remarks

being hurled at Hindu or Sikh women, or Indian and Bangladeshi women being referred to as

Pakis (Page 132).

The book is concluded with a word of caution about the existence of racism on campuses and theheightening of such sentiments since the events of 9/11. The authors also remind the reader of

the significant, unexpected success enjoyed by South Asian women over the last two to three

decades.

Analyzing the information:


3/7

It is nearly impossible to create one or two characters out of the 114 women that were

interviewed as part of the qualitative research project, the findings of which are presented in

Moving on up. However, given the relative consistency within ethnic groups, I will attempt to

present the experiences of young Muslim women of Pakistani origin. Perhaps I am choosing to

focus on this group since I have something in common with these women. But I am also

choosing this group because of the attention it has received in the post-9/11 world. Muslim

women in general and Muslim women from countries viewed as conservative (read terrorist)

Islamic states in particular, have been portrayed as victims of a cruel society.

We are all familiar with the challenges of applying theory to practice. Attempting to analyze the

research presented in this book, and looking at the lives of the women interviewed, is no

exception. The study focuses on a group that is struggling with managing two national identities

(one being British and the other that of the South Asian nation their parents came from), an

ethnic identity (of being South Asian), and a religious identity. To further complicate the

scenario, many of the women interviewed are also first generation students adding another

dimension to any analysis that needs to be done.

Mindful of these challenges, I will look at the selected group (Muslim women of Pakistani origin)

in the light of several theories. My general approach is influenced by Eriksons development

stages, and I will rely heavily on models that are based on Eriksons work. In particular I will

refer to Josselsons theory of identity development in women, and Phinneys ethnic development

model. (1) I will also use the paper entitled First-Generation Student presented by Pascarella et al.

(2)

Josselsons model for womens identity development is summarized in the form of Table 1

below.

Foreclosures: These women knew early on

what they wanted to be/wanted to do andpursued these goals single-mindedly.

Identity Achievements: These women

identified separately from their parents, sawthemselves as self-designed, taking pride in

self.

Moratoriums: These women are aware of

multiple right ways of being, but are still

searching for identity development, and theirpersonal direction.

Identity Diffusions: Significant problems

finding self have a tendency to withdrawfrom situations and are unable to make

commitments.

Table 1 Josselson - Women's Identity Development


4/7

Because the focus of this book was to conduct a qualitative analysis of a sizable population from

the selected area in Britain and support claims that South Asian women had made significant

gains, it does not dwell for too long on any one interviewee. This makes it difficult to pick out

traits that would show if a woman was in a particular stage of identity development.

There were, I felt, a significant number of Moratorium and Moratorium Diffusion cases. Thesewere women who wanted to be accepted at home as well as outside:

Well Im from Pakistan my parents are from there. Our culture is totally different to any

other and I really like it. Although I wear English clothes but at home I dont wear them.

I wear them here because to feel part of everything else. I speak Punjabi but mostly we

speak English at home. Rafika Amin (Page 43)

Meanwhile, other women were bolder and chose establish their own identities that were

potentially in conflict with parental ideals and expectations. Some redefined certain terms so they

would apply better to them and their unique situations. For example:

I define British my way not the normal definitions given to it. Like I have taken on the

good points of Britishness that dont conflict with our religion or culture and left all the

bad points. Tahira Safder (Page 47)

Others were more straight-forward in setting themselves apart from their parents and recognizing

the differences that existed between their generations:

I just dont really identify with it. I dont really relate to it Jus t because my parents

are from Pakistan I wouldnt call myself a Pakistani. Ambiya Siddique (Page 44)

I wouldnt say they (the parents) have as much Islamic thinking as their children have

now Farhana Sheikh (Page 45)

A lot of Pakistani-ness, is the cultural side of it. And there are a lot of things in my

culture, not in my religion that I dont accept Parveen (Page 44)

At the same time, there were also cases where there was an implicit acceptance of the fact that

even though they were able to negotiate with their parents on matters like attending university,

there were other matters like marriage that were not open to negotiation in a similar manner:

I think it is important to have links there because you dont know; I might get married tosomeone from there. Shahnaz Ali (Page 43)

Such attitudes presented an interesting situation, because even though these women were aware

of their own identities and their differences with their parents, they were willing to compromise

in order to avoid conflict and to save their parents from social embarrassment.


5/7

It was also of particular interest that, even though these women were, for the most part, First-

Generation College Students the role played by social and cultural capital in inequalities that

exist in higher education in Britain is not as significant as may be considered by the respective

schools of thought. The cultural capital school has treated class inequalities as being closely

related to ethnic inequalities; meanwhile the social capital school treats ethnicity as a distinct

factor causing inequalities in higher education. While these theories are helpful in the contexts

they were developed to address, they are not applicable to the complex, and more importantly,

dynamic situation that this book analyzes. Changing ethnic identities and a huge transformation

in the participation of South Asian women in higher education are difficult to analyze using the

concepts of cultural and social capitals.

Barring this significant difference, the Muslim women of Pakistani origin fit well into the First-

Generation College Students model developed by Pascarella and his peers. These women have

obligations to their families that affect their ability to attend certain schools or universities and

also affect the choice of subjects that they are able to study.

Even though Pakistani women are now in a more comparable position, where 14.5% attend

university, compared 17.0% among white British women the inequalities are very significant

when we consider highly selective institutions.

This can be attributed in part to the unwillingness of Pakistani parents to allow their daughters to

attend universities away from home, but is also caused by poor performance in high-school level

examinations like the A Levels. Many young women were not allowed by their parents to take

subjects that they liked. Instead they were forced to take subjects that were more difficult.

Such cases are mentioned by the authors on multiple occasions in the text. The section Choosingsubjects in the fourth chapter of the book cites many examples of young women who had to

choose law, medicine or engineering over their preferred courses of study because of parental

pressure.

This puts the claim that First-Generation College Students are as successful as others who are not

from First-Generation backgrounds into a new context. While women who enrolled in courses of

their choice did well, others suffered throughout their time at college and high school.

Jasmine Ali pursued a degree in Law upon her parents insistence. She is regretting this decision

now. On the other hand, Simi Banu, a student who was able to resist pressure from her parents to

study Pharmacy, is studying English and loving the experience (Page 68).

I will now move away from the focus on development in women and first generation students to

ethnic identity development, and identity development in general. For this purpose I will use the

support of Phinneys Ethnic Identity Development and Marcias model for Development and

Validation of Ego-Identity Status. (3)


6/7

As is the case with most identity development models, individuals go through a crisis that

challenges their views or pushes them out of their comfort zone. As one student said When I

interact with people I dont think I am a brown girl and you are a white man, but it was other

people that made me aware (Page 128).

Such experiences were more common in environments where the numbers of minorities weresmall. These crises were delayed, and identity development slowed in environments that

possessed the critical mass of minorities:

Most of my social circle is in the Asian community, I mean I can speak to my white

friends up until certain point but there is more common understanding between you

and your Asian friend.Fatima Begum (Page 129)

While some women were able to avoid confrontation on a regular basis by attending university

in more diverse localities, incidences of explicit abuse outside of university made most think

about the hatred that existed. Since most of the women who were interviewed are still quiteyoung, and may have just recently finished college, not many can be said to have reached

identity achievement. Most are angry and frustrated with their environment. It would be

interesting to see how these womens ethnic identity develops as they mature and wade through

the crises they are currently faced with.

Indications of higher levels of identity achievement can be seen in the remarks of some. For

example:

Talking to students they were like asking questions is you mum allowing you to come

and study? is your husband alright about it?, yeah there are myths you just have to

tell them things are changing and put them rights. Zoreena Bibi (Page 136)

We can see from Zoreenas remarks that even though she is frustrated with the situation, she

understands that stereotypes exist and that she can explain matters to her peers, correct them

often and that way these stereotypes will be weakened.

Conclusions:

As we have seen often during our study of student affairs, theories are great tools but they

require skilled users. There is no situation involving human development or human interaction

that can be dealt with using a cut-out, ready-to-use approach. Each situation demands a close

study and an appropriately developed response.

Student affairs personnel need to, as I attempted in this analysis, relate theory to practice as

appropriate.


7/7

There may never be a situation where we can directly apply the knowledge learned inside a

classroom to understand an individual or groups development. But we can use these theories to

select factors and parameters that we can then study closely to understand almost every situation.

With a medley of identities being developed inside their minds, the young Muslims women from

Pakistan that we took a look at here have reacted in a more or less consistent way. They have alltried to negotiate to the best of their abilities with their parents so that they may attend

university, and study subjects that they like.

Some have been more successful than others, but they have all had a similar approach. None

have attempted to neglect their parents wishes, both in terms of education and with regards to

arranged marriage. They have instead built parallel identities to satisfy themselves, their parents,

and the general British environment in which they live and go to school, college or university in

and in an increasing number of cases, go to work in.

The predictions made regarding young women of South Asian descent, and of Pakistani origin inparticular relied on some of the same theoretical models that I have used to analyze this group. It

is interesting then to see how the differences that make the context being studied different from

the contexts for which these theories were created may very well have contributed to the failure

of these predictions.

One general concern I had while analyzing the study presented by Hussain and Bagguley in

Moving on up is that the sample of South Asian women used for this study was very specific.

Even though this was declared at the beginning of the text, it would be difficult to say if women

living outside of Leeds would relate to all that was said by the interviewees. This is part of the

restrictions that are applied when conducting a qualitative research. It would have been difficultfor the authors to conduct a qualitative research project, with a significant sample size and

achieve the geographic diversity that one would desire.

Bibliography

1. al, Evans et.Student Development in College. San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, 1998.

2. First-Generation College Students/Journal of Higher Education. al, Pascarella et. 3, s.l. :

Ohio State University, 2004, Vol. 75.

3. Marcia, James E. Development and Validation of Ego-Identity Status. Journal of Personalityand Social Psychology. 1966, Vol. 3, 5.

Book Analysis: “Moving on up: South Asian women and higher education by Yasmin Hussain and Paul...

Documents

Transcript of Book Analysis: “Moving on up: South Asian women and higher education by Yasmin Hussain and Paul...