‘Shockingly badly integrated'

Pakistan and the United Kingdom have a particularly close relationship. The UK is home to the largest community of Pakistani origin in Europe, with a population exceeding 1.17 million. British Pakistanis are the second-largest ethnic minority population in the UK (the largest being British Indian) and they are one of the largest overseas Pakistani communities and similar in numbers to the Pakistani diaspora resident in Saudi Arabia — though that population is in decline. The relationship is long-standing, reaching back into the mid-19^th century and British-Pakistanis have made a diversity of contributions to British society and culture, the economy and sporting life. British-Pakistanis have among the highest levels of home ownership in the UK.

All the above said it is a matter of concern that a recently released report by the Cabinet Office states baldly that Pakistani women living in the UK are ‘shockingly badly integrated’. The report is a part of the first UK disparity audit which seeks to illustrate how people of different origins are treated with regard to healthcare, education, employment and the criminal justice system. Pakistani women who do not speak English or who are not working are ‘living in an entirely different society and are shockingly badly integrated.’ Their lives compare poorly to women in other communities.

Sadly the findings come as no surprise. The British-Pakistani community is a mirror of ‘back home’ and even though some families may be third or even fourth generation the role of women has changed little over the years. It is rare to see Pakistani women in the workplace — though common to see Indian women. There need to be more Pakistani women teachers and doctors and nurses but that will require a change in attitude by Pakistani men to women of their families leading more integrated lives. That is going to require a paradigm shift of monumental proportions, and with the conservatism and resistance to social change that prevails ‘back home’ the prospect of a more integrated life for women of Pakistani origin living in the UK is bleak indeed.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2017.

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