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in which older SAM women in this study have aged. However, these stages are not fixed but fluid and overlapping through women’s own agency within these roles (see

Chapter Six), in which izzat (respect, honour) is an internalised feature that guides

early experiences and socialisations (see Chapter Six). However, the network has

served as a framework to guide themes around the way in which older SAM women have experienced and anticipated age and ageing through gendered roles and expectations. Childhood (bachpan) and Javaani (youth) •Parents •Family •Expectations Marriage •Wife •Daughter-in-law •Mother •Mother-in-law Later-life (siannai/wise person) •Religion/culture •Bazurak (wise person) •Positioning

Life course experiences

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The second thematic network that was elicited from the data suggests there is an internalised hierarchy of relationships that connect and overlap across gender and age (see Network 2, p.140). The interconnectedness and complexity of these structures

are discussed and highlighted in Chapter Five and Chapter Six. Women evidently

identified hierarchies of authority to apply across relationships of age, in which the elder, whether the relationship in the hierarchy is higher (e.g. uncle, aunt) or lower age and positioning (e.g. nephew or niece) are the determinants of increased izzat. For example, a younger uncle/aunt will be seen with increased izzat due to hierarchical positioning and an older nephew or niece will be acknowledged with increased izzat due to age. Additionally, boundaries of age were noted to cross gender divides (e.g. uncle/aunt, nephew/niece, grandmother/grandfather) (see Chapter Five and Chapter Six) and there is a significant identification of maternal and paternal relationships and

positions of authority in addition to the language use of male and feminine relationships.

Network 2: Thematic analysis network for older SAM women’s age-stages and matriarchal positions

The third set of thematic analysis readings highlighted the co-construction of cultural scripts in which older SAM women (re)negotiate and publically perform notions of cultural identities and belongings through shared understandings of a) gendered social

Childhood and Youth (Jawaani) Daughter Sister/niece/ granddaughter Marriage Wife Daughter-in- law Sister-in-law Mother

Later Life: Older Woman

Mother-in-law

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norms, b) family including kinship ties and the extended family structure and c) the construction of a migrant identity (see Chapter Five).

Conclusion

This chapter highlights the use of a two-part method utilising ethnographic research and in-depth qualitative life course interviews as best suited for the purposes of this research and thesis. The combination of a two-part method delivers valuable insights into the collective and individual behaviours, experiences and actions of older SAM women and draws attention to challenges within the research process faced by researchers researching ‘hidden’ community groups. The different locations of power and agency within ethnography and qualitative interviewing additionally allow researchers to gain important observations around social structures, hierarchies and interactions of those being observed and researched in their natural environment but also through learning from those they are researching (Spradley, 1979).

The gatekeeper’s role during the recruitment process highlights the changeable nature of power, in which both the researcher and gatekeeper hold positions of power at particular times during the research process. Additionally, the gatekeeper’s authority on granting or denying access to a group plays a significant role in being able to access community groups who are already perceived to be hidden and constructed as minorities within a minority group, through their multiple oppressions of being a woman, from an ethnic minority and in a later life position. The study therefore problematizes the extent to which the researcher’s knowledge of who is appropriate and where to find them is an essential part of the research process.

Moreover, it is important to be aware of cultural ethics during the research process. In this research cultural ethics presented itself within two particular aspects of the research; first, others (group/family members) in the room and second, notions of izzat (respect). The first, having others in the room, was additionally applicable during the ethnography as a result of the group spaces and the nature of the ethnographic research. Within the ethnography my own ideas and understandings around acceptable and unacceptable experiences were challenged as entering the research with a “halfie” researcher identity (Subedi, 2006, p.573) led me to believe that some of the experiences women shared within the group setting might be challenged by others. However, these ideas were challenged as the group space provided older SAM

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women with a ‘safe’ place in which they could discuss and share experiences that might have been deemed culturally unacceptable within the community sphere. Therefore, confidentiality within the group space was an important part of the ethnographic research process.

Older women during the interviews did not mind having others (family members) in the room. Cultural ethics therefore played a few roles in these situations in which a) my own desires of upholding izzat limited my role in not wanting to disrupt the researcher/researched relationship by telling the other person to leave, b) my community identity was questioned when the other person was asked to leave and c) traditional South Asian ideals were reified within collective and extended family spaces, in which older SAM women are constructed around notions of passing on knowledge and thus the sharing of life stories with others was constructed positively. Researchers must therefore be aware of cultural behaviours before entering the research to avoid challenges and potential loss of participants through disrespect. Therefore, culturally relevant frameworks that address culturally specific expectations and sensitivities need to be applied during the research process. Additionally, language can be used as a tool to permeate cultural and knowledge based barriers through building rapport but also by devising linguistically appropriate tools for research (e.g. observational and interview guides).

Wellbeing was an implicit theme that emerged from the support group observations, in which women utilised the group to construct positive notions of belonging and a space in which they could share concerns. Areas of concern around issues of wellbeing and quality of life were identified around issues of physical health and wellbeing; surviving and dealing with cancer; death of partners, family and children; caring for family members with disabilities and/or addictions; and living alone. Concerns around loneliness and isolation were embedded within a number of older women’s concerns, which were centred on loneliness and isolation. These concerns included personal problems/conflicts; death of partners; children leaving home; and the absence of family and social networks. However, older SAM women did share their concerns about the lack of funding for groups like this and the impact it would have on maintaining wellbeing through the breakdown of its support network.

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Through critical reflexivity it has been recognised that researchers themselves are located within multiple positions and, within cross-cultural community research, positions are added to and created within additional local and global identities. Therefore, the researcher is not solely positioned as the questioner within research and must be open to being questioned in order for the participants to develop an understanding and rapport within active communication, language and behaviours but, additionally, within the third space of unspoken understandings, beliefs and values. There are, however, limitations with third space understandings and the researcher must not fall into essentialist interpretations of what third space understandings represent. Nevertheless, there are dominant themes that are present within these spaces which must be recognised in order to produce ethical research.

Additionally, community insiders conducting research within their communities must be aware of the role of emotion within research in order to achieve ethical research and prevent unwanted bias, by acknowledging the researcher’s emotions at particular stages during the research process. The research process is therefore negotiated across the fluid interplay of power structures, emotions and biographical identities, for both the researcher and researched, in which both the researcher and researched have the power to negotiate what is shared and how. The researcher and participant both take active roles in the research process, which contributes to the movement of power and who holds power during particular times during the research process.

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