Migration, Marital Instability and Divorce among British Asians: Transnationalism, Changing Conjugalities and Legal Pluralism

长期以来，英国的南亚人口一直被描述为“老式”家庭的代表，特别是与其他人口相比，他们的离婚率很低。这种保守的家庭习俗被认为是对传统的忠诚，而强烈的家庭价值观一直是英国亚裔社区自我认同的核心。然而，有迹象表明，在亚裔英国人中，婚姻不稳定和离婚的趋势正在增加。这一趋势也成为这些社区关注的话题，例如，宗教组织提供的婚姻咨询和家庭调解越来越多。最近，人们强烈呼吁对这一领域进行实证研究。2001年人口普查的数据显示，英国亚裔人口中的单亲率和离婚率正在上升。然而，统计数据并没有提供对潜在动态的洞察。为了提供解决这些问题所需的详细和背景信息，我建议对两个英国亚裔群体进行人种学研究：巴基斯坦穆斯林和旁遮普锡克教徒，这两个群体是相关的，因为他们有一些共同的特征，而在其他方面又有所不同。很大一部分人的配偶都来自海外。他们的移民历史和在英国的整体社会经济地位不同。总的来说，旁遮普的锡克教徒比巴基斯坦的穆斯林生活得更好，有更多的女性从事有偿工作，代际社会流动性也更大。他们的婚姻模式也不同。虽然许多巴基斯坦穆斯林家庭更喜欢在亲属群体内结婚，但旁遮普锡克教徒传统上与大家庭外的人结婚。然而，这些概括忽视了种姓的区别，这导致了经济和社会文化背景对婚姻破裂的不同影响。社会变革和婚姻实践中的代际谈判也被忽视了，而婚姻抱负、夫妻期望和维持不满意的婚姻关系的意愿可能已经发生了迅速变化。这个项目将探讨这些差异在多大程度上影响了婚姻不稳定的模式和过程，或者阶级、性别权力和生活阶段等因素是否更重要。跨国婚姻的影响将是比较的中心焦点。一些评论人士认为，这种做法强化了保守主义。另一些人则认为，这是导致婚姻不和谐的一个潜在原因，因为不同大陆的配偶之间不相容或对婚姻的期望不同。因此，该项目将探讨涉及移民的婚姻是否具有与在英国签约的婚姻不同的冲突和离婚经历。移徙配偶的性别在遇到的问题的性质和离婚的可能性方面也可能具有重要意义。最后，两种宗教对待离婚的态度也不同。伊斯兰教的婚姻和离婚可以独立于民事程序之外发生，这使婚姻状况变得复杂，并有可能通过一夫多妻制正式承认多重伴侣关系。锡克教并不正式承认离婚，尽管在英国，民事离婚和长期分居在实践中是存在的。此外，在英国家庭法和英国政府的其他部门（包括福利、指导和调解服务以及难民）如何对待这些区别方面，还存在额外的复杂性。我将在反复采访巴基斯坦穆斯林和旁遮普锡克教夫妇的基础上分析这些动态，这些夫妇在过去三年内正在经历或经历离婚。随着时间的推移，多次访谈旨在了解合作伙伴的“动机修辞”是如何演变的，并允许逐渐建立信任，以及长期民族志观察的可能性。

South Asian populations in Britain have long been described as representing the 'old-fashioned' family with, in particular, low rates of divorce in contrast to the wider population. This conservatism in family practices has been credited to loyalty to tradition, and strong family values have been central to the self-identity of British Asian communities. However, there are signs of a trend towards increasing marital instability and divorce among British Asians. This trend has also become a topic of concern within these communities, witnessed by increasing numbers of marriage counselling and family mediation by religious organisations, for instance.There have recently been strong calls for empirical studies in this area. Data from the 2001 census suggests that rates of single parenthood and divorce among British Asian populations are on the rise. However, the statistics do not offer insights into the underlying dynamics.To provide the detailed and contextualised information required to address these issues, I propose ethnographic research with two British Asian groups: Pakistani Muslims and Punjabi Sikhs, relevant because they share some features and differ in others. A significant proportion of both marry partners from overseas. They differ in migration histories and overall socio-economic position in Britain. On the whole, Punjabi Sikhs are better off than Pakistani Muslims, with more women in paid employment and greater inter-generational social mobility. They also differ in marriage patterns. Whilst many Pakistani Muslim families have preferred marriage within the kin group, Punjabi Sikhs have traditionally married outside the extended family. However, these generalisations overlook distinctions by caste, which give rise to economic and socio-cultural contexts with different implications for marital breakdown. Social change and intergenerational negotiations in marriage practices are also overlooked, whilst there are likely to have been rapid changes in marital ambitions, conjugal expectations and willingness to remain in an unsatisfactory union. This project will explore the extent to which such differences inflect patterns and processes of marital instability, or whether factors such as class, gendered power and life stage are more significant. The impact of transnational marriage will be a central focus of comparison. Some commentators view the practice as reinforcing conservatism. Others see it as a potential cause of marital discord because of incompatibility or differing expectations of marriage among spouses raised continents apart. This project will therefore explore whether marriages involving migration are characterised by different experiences of conflict and divorce to those contracted in Britain. The gender of the migrant spouse may also be significant in the nature of problems encountered, and in the likelihood of divorce.Finally, the two religions also treat divorce differently. Islamic marriage and divorce can occur independently of civil procedures, creating complexity in marital status and the possibility of multiple partnerships being formally recognised through polygamy. Sikhism does not formally recognise divorce, although civil divorce and extended separation occur in practice in Britain. Moreover, there are additional complexities in how these distinctions are treated by British family law and by other arms of the British state including welfare, guidance and mediation services, and refuges.I will analyse these dynamics on the basis of repeated interviews with Pakistani Muslim and Punjabi Sikh couples who are going through, or have experienced divorce within the last three years. Multiple interviews over time are intended to gain a sense of how the partners' 'rhetoric of motives' evolve, and allow for a gradual building of trust, and possibilities for long-term ethnographic observation.