Identity

What does it mean?

I'm a thirty-three year old British Pakistani woman and a qualified journalist. I've worked at a variety of media organisations, including the BBC and The Guardian. Before that I was a research scientist, working on HIV/AIDS.

The aim of this blog is to discuss cultural identity from a British Pakistani Muslim perspective.

When I married my now ex-husband, my parents disowned me. This whole process, from when they found out to the present day has been incredibly difficult.

I've found it very hard living between two extreme cultures, the Pakistani Muslim culture I share with my family and the British culture I share with my friends, work and social life.

This blog aims to discuss this dichotomy and what it's like growing up in a traditional Pakistani Muslim family in Britain. It is based on my experience.

I'll include other friends stories as well, who've had similar but distinct experiences. These experiences touch on a variety of subjects, such as divorce, separation, arranged marriages.

Because of my interest in current affairs and the Muslim debate, i'll comment and discuss these as well.

As i'm now single, there's also a section on dating, which will include my own stories and those of my friends, who are all Asian. The aim of this part of the blog is to explain cultural influences when it comes to dating and parental reaction to the men their daughters are dating.

This is not meant as a poor me blog! It's meant to highlight one part of the Muslim debate which is missed - what's it like growing up caught between two cultures, with religion programmed into you from a young age? What influence can that have on a child growing up in Britain? And what about all those cultural differences - what's it like growing up in Britain but in a Pakistani environment?

If you have any stories of your own, regardless of which culture you are, please mail me.

asianidentity@hotmail.com

Thanks for reading,

Identity