'We were Muslims but we didn't know Islam': Migration, Pakistani Muslim women and changing religious practices in the UK

Abstract

This article focuses on Pakistani Muslim women across generations: pioneer migrants who arrived in the 1960s and 70s and their descendants born or brought up in the UK. It traces their lives before and immediately after migration and also explores the present day when the pioneers are in their twilight years, their children have grown up and many have grandchildren in their teens. The paper shows how migration to the UK impacted upon their gendered social and religious norms and charts the changes which have taken place across the generations. Using primary empirical data the paper examines how Pakistani Muslim women negotiated the context of migration and settlement to reproduce and modify traditional gender norms through examining changes in the religious sphere.