Exploring the experiences of young British South-Asian Muslim women growing up in the UK

Bhaidani, Samreen

Abstract

Context
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) (2018) there are around 3 million Muslims living in the United Kingdom (Cheruvallil-Contractor et al, 2022). Islam is now the second largest religion in the UK. However, Muslims face scrutiny and discrimination, which is commonly linked to Islamophobia, and they are often stereotyped as having oppressive views (Hunt et al, 2020), particularly in relation to women. Much of the previous research in this field has tended to focus on the larger category of the experiences and wellbeing of people from Black and Minority Ethnic groups (Soorkia et al. 2011). Despite the growing number of Muslim immigrants in the United Kingdom and Muslims being the second largest group of migrants (Ozeto et al, 2021), only a limited number of studies have been carried out with a specific focus on young British Muslim women’s psychological wellbeing (Abdel-Khalek, 2010; Van, 2019). Research has identified that for Muslim women there is a link between religious and cultural expectations and how they come to form their identity. Thus, this qualitative study aims to explore the experiences of identity and wellbeing of young British Muslim women growing up in the UK.

Method

As the research is based on the participants’ lived experiences, qualitative research is best suited (Silverman, 2013). Ten participants were recruited to take part in a semi-structured interview process. In relation to selecting participants, the inclusion criteria included: Women aged between 18-25 years and from South-Asian Muslim backgrounds.

Results

Thematic analysis (TA) was used to analyse the transcribed data. The following themes were identified from the data: Being Muslim as a symbol of strength, religion is filtered through a cultural lens, perceived misunderstanding and misrecognition of Muslims in educational and social context and A British version of Islam.

Implications

This research was carried out from a culturally sensitive approach and has considered misconceptions about the group and how religion and culture can play both protective and challenging roles.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Apr 18, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 8, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11904613
• Award Date: Oct 8, 2024