Identity, empathy and 'otherness': Asian women, education and dowries in the UK. (In special issue: Black Feminisms and Postcolonial Paradigms: Researching Educational Inequalities)
Identity, empathy and 'otherness': Asian women, education and dowries in the UK. (In special issue: Black Feminisms and Postcolonial Paradigms: Researching Educational Inequalities)
This article will examine Asian women's views on the practice of dowries in the UK. The research is based on 20 in-depth interviews with Asian women studying for a Social Sciences degree in a 'new' (post-1992) university in the southeast of England. All of the interviews were tape-recorded and the data transcribed. The data was analysed using methods of grounded theory as discussed by Strauss and Corbin and developed by Charmaz. I sought to develop a Black feminist standpoint from which to conduct research with Asian women. This was based upon a notion of 'shared identity' and a 'shared empathy' with respondents. Revealing personal details about my own life sought to minimise power differentials in the research process. The research reveals that Asian women's entry into higher education has an impact on how they see the practice of dowries in the UK. Many of the women indicated that higher education was used as a source of empowerment for them, which gave them greater choice within the family regarding the practice of marriage and dowries. Within this context, the research reveals that Asian women's identities are shifting and incorporating new modes of being. The research also demonstrates that a Black feminist standpoint is a useful way forward in understanding the lives of women who continue to be silenced and 'othered'.
asian women, dowries, education, empowerment, black feminism
27-39
Bhopal, Kalwant
5ac0970e-1c42-4757-87df-6fdb6f826314
March 2009
Bhopal, Kalwant
5ac0970e-1c42-4757-87df-6fdb6f826314
Bhopal, Kalwant
(2009)
Identity, empathy and 'otherness': Asian women, education and dowries in the UK. (In special issue: Black Feminisms and Postcolonial Paradigms: Researching Educational Inequalities).
Race Ethnicity and Education, 12 (1), .
(doi:10.1080/13613320802650923).
Abstract
This article will examine Asian women's views on the practice of dowries in the UK. The research is based on 20 in-depth interviews with Asian women studying for a Social Sciences degree in a 'new' (post-1992) university in the southeast of England. All of the interviews were tape-recorded and the data transcribed. The data was analysed using methods of grounded theory as discussed by Strauss and Corbin and developed by Charmaz. I sought to develop a Black feminist standpoint from which to conduct research with Asian women. This was based upon a notion of 'shared identity' and a 'shared empathy' with respondents. Revealing personal details about my own life sought to minimise power differentials in the research process. The research reveals that Asian women's entry into higher education has an impact on how they see the practice of dowries in the UK. Many of the women indicated that higher education was used as a source of empowerment for them, which gave them greater choice within the family regarding the practice of marriage and dowries. Within this context, the research reveals that Asian women's identities are shifting and incorporating new modes of being. The research also demonstrates that a Black feminist standpoint is a useful way forward in understanding the lives of women who continue to be silenced and 'othered'.
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Published date: March 2009
Keywords:
asian women, dowries, education, empowerment, black feminism
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Local EPrints ID: 65707
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/65707
ISSN: 1361-3324
PURE UUID: 1d437f4a-b2a8-4c2c-a7f3-4203c986b612
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Date deposited: 16 Mar 2009
Last modified: 13 Mar 2024 17:49
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Author:
Kalwant Bhopal
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