Storying Sexual Relationships: the Stories and Practices of Young British Pakistani Muslims

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The project asks how young British Muslims, particularly those with Pakistani heritage, talk and think about their personal relationships. Particular attention will be paid to sexual relationships, and to relationships issues that may be specific to these groups, which may be linked to culture or religion. The research explores the role of stories and storytelling in relationships. It focuses on relationship stories that are told in everyday life (with friends, for example) and also in art forms such as poetry, fiction, films and radio. It investigates existing stories and also involves participants in making and sharing new stories. This attention to 'ordinary' relationships will complement current attention, including some urgent and important research, and some less helpful, sensational media stories and political interventions, directed at cases of sexual abuse (by British Pakistani men) and forced marriage (of young British Pakistani women and men). The study will reflect some of the diversity of British Pakistani Muslims, in terms of linguistic, ethnic, religious, class and educational backgrounds, which map onto differences in sexual relationship practices. Research will take place in three areas: Yorkshire, Glasgow, and Tyne and Wear. We will work with community organisations which support young British Pakistani Muslim men and women in their sexual lives and relationships, such as community youth helplines, introduction agencies, and marriage counselling and advice services. This is a three-year project involving a number of different individuals and organizations, most of whom will be involved at particular stages and times, rather than throughout. The research team will conduct interviews with young British Pakistani Muslim men and women to explore ways in which relationship experiences often reflect cultural and religious expectations, precedents and norms. These interviews will also explore stories could be told that aren't; what difficult issues could be tackled and explored in this way; what positive practices and experiences could be articulated and shared; and what may be best left unsaid.We will then hold some reading gupshops (a term combining 'workshops' and 'gupshup', the Urdu word for informal chat) to explore what people know and feel about stories that are already being told and shared about sexual relationship practices involving British Pakistani Muslims. Next, storytelling workshops will be used to develop new relationship stories through creative writing (fiction and autobiography) or documentary (film and radio). These will be led by writers or documentary makers who are themselves British Muslims. Subsequently, in-depth interviews with workshop participants will reflect on experiences of participating in the project. Those who are happy to have their work published or otherwise disseminated to a wider public (for example, at the Bradford Literature Festival, and through the internet) will be encouraged to do so, and supported in doing so.