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There is little detailed information on this group of more recently arrived Pakistani female migrants in the literature. Their experiences have often been homogenised with either ghar-walis or the second-generation (Shaw 2000; Ahmed et al. 2003).

Upon reaching adulthood men and women from the second-generation have married second-generation husbands or wives, but many, and some researchers suggest most, have married men and women from Pakistan (Shaw 2000; 2009; Peach 2006).

Patterns of marriage are now included in Figure 6.7 below. The second wave of Pakistani female migration represents all women who migrated upon marriage to a second-generation man. The category is given the label ‘bhabi’, a familial term in Urdu and Punjabi that refers to the wife of an elder brother; this is a position of some

authority and responsibility within families. Also included in Figure 6.7 is the third wave of male migration from Pakistan, the men who arrived in Britain after marrying a

second-generation woman.

158 Figure 6.6: Waves of Migration – Bhabis

Qualitative Findings

The label bhabi has been chosen for the women in this wave of female migration to refer to the responsibility that these women are given to uphold and maintain

ethnoreligious traditions and practices from Pakistan. Women in the second wave of migration from Pakistan are educated to GCSE or A Level equivalence; they gain some of their status within families as a result of being more educated than their

predecessors, the ghar-walis. Their educational attainment and fluency, or potential to become fluent, in English is a valued attribute in their selection as marriage partners for second-generation Pakistani men. Due to their higher level of education they are older at the time of migration than the ghar-walis were, in their early 20s rather than their late teens. The term bhabi is also a reminder that these women hold marginalised and disadvantaged positions as young women of ‘in-law’ status within British Pakistani family structures.

Bhabis are often family members (most often cousins) of second-generation men. They believe that they are selected as marriage partners by their parents-in-law because they are seen to better represent Pakistani norms and values than second-generation women. The values of patience and the ability to accept challenging circumstances

159 with little complaint are particularly important, as well as the ability to transmit ethnic and religious education to their children. Bhabis are valued because of their knowledge of Islam and ethnoreligious norms and practices resulting from their socialisation and education in Pakistan. Bhabis are very aware of the vulnerability of their migrant status and their distance from their own families, these factors make them more likely to act within the bounds of family and kinship groups norms and hierarchies. Bhabis are expected to maintain the social structure and to accept their marginalised position within it.

“If a girl from here marries a boy from here they can make do, but only a few of them. Girls from Pakistan have a different environment, they are able to compromise more. But here, there is little patience and struggle. I can only speak for myself that if people are bringing daughters-in-law from Pakistan it’s because they can put up with a lot more from their partners. If one is higher, one is lower. If one can’t put up with certain things the other can at least put up with it.” (Farida, bhabi)

Economic activity is not expected of bhabis. Several interviewees spoke about how their in-laws had promised that they could further their education after migration.

However, once they arrived in Britain they were told that they would have no need for English language classes or further education because they would not be allowed to work. Decisions about what bhabis could do were made by parents-in law, not husbands:

At first my mother-in-law said that I could continue with my studies but then afterwards she said why do you need to sit in an office? And they didn’t let me work, they said why do you need to work? Because my father in law said that you will be working with men”. (Tabassum, bhabi)

The English language requirement for citizenship status has made access to English language classes easier for bhabis. If this was not a requirement of their visa

application this would have been subject to negotiation with in-laws or husbands:

“So I thought that I wanted to learn more so I went to the Job Centre and then and I found out from the Job Centre that in order to get nationality, ESOL was essential. If I didn’t have that then I wouldn’t have found out about anything. So because of nationality I did the ESOL course and then it was better than sitting at home, I didn’t have children then either so then I thought I should do something.” (Nausheen, bhabi)

Parents-in-law are influential in the lives of these women. Bhabis are likely to join extended family households and undertake extensive domestic work for the wider family until they move into their own homes after they have had one or two children of their own. Taking on the housework for large households, under the supervision of mothers-in-law, was something of a rite of passage for these younger first-generation

160 women. The burden of housework, restrictions on their opportunities, and the

psychological impacts of migration meant that the first years of migration were very difficult periods of adjustment for most women in this cohort. Economic activity or educational attainment were not immediate concerns or likely possibilities, even though most bhabis arrived with aspirations to learn and work.

“When I came here I had to make breakfast, lunch at 1 o’clock, tea at 4 and then dinner at night. So the whole of that responsibility came to me, I was very young then. All the housework, washing clothes […] I have always heard that once you are married you should try to keep your in-laws happy, to live alongside them. If you are arguing all the time then it’s not a good thing, this is what my parents told me.” (Hanifa, bhabi)

There is a strong expectation within families that these women will prioritise their roles within the home and family over economic activity. These women are subject to the authority of their parents-in-law and husbands not only because of traditional family structures but for their citizenship status in Britain. Ghar-walis had greater autonomy in the running of their households and decision-making upon migration because their in-laws were likely to have remained in Pakistan.

The households of bhabis are less disadvantaged than those of ghar-walis because their second-generation husbands speak English as a first language. However, a lack of generational improvements in employment outcomes for Pakistani men means that these second-generation men are largely employed in manual low-paid occupations.

There is a dearth of qualitative research evidence on the economic activity of this second wave of female migrants and the extent of informal working amongst them has not been examined. The labour market outcomes of bhabis are either homogenised with those of older and earlier female migrants, or with second-generation women. The earliest qualitative research identified younger and more recently arrived migrant women as the most isolated and marginalised within Pakistani communities (Werbner 1990). Contemporary insights into the labour market experiences of this group of women are much-needed and this is an area where the qualitative research arising from this project can make a significant contribution.

Bhabis did not talk about any positive aspects of living with their in-laws after migration.

Instead, they felt they were not able develop close relationship with their husbands, they had to manage large amounts of domestic work and they were isolated in the presence of the wider family. Possible benefits of living with in-laws were not spoken about such as: assistance with settling into Britain; learning how to run a British Pakistani household; not having the burden of paying rent or mortgage; sharing expenses with extended family. The interviewees expressed greater dissatisfaction with their experiences after migration than those in earlier qualitative studies (Werbner

161 1990; Shaw 1988; 2000). The dissatisfaction may be a result of changes in the

characteristics of transnational daughters-in law, many had some formal qualifications and came from middle-class and urban families.