The average Asian woman in the UK presently, has a vastly active and engaging schedule. Having to constantly fight to find a balance between career and home life can be very exhausting
BY ILESH TOPIWALA & HENNA RAI | DEC 12, 2007
To investigate the matter of finding the right balance between home and work life, XEHER approached two women from different backgrounds to listen to their opinions on their careers and families. No two people lead the same life or have the same methods and motivations, or employ the same means to deal with what life throws at them. This becomes all the more clearer upon hearing about the trials and tribulations of these two British born Asian women.
Faiza Rehman, 23, is a young Muslim filmmaker from London. She is currently working at the Islam Channel as a producer.
From a very early age, Faiza always showed an interest in the world of media, and so finally decided to become a filmmaker while studying at college. ?I?ve always been interested in films. I studied Media and quickly learnt that I?m very creative in that aspect. I actually decided that I wanted to be a Director whilst in college. When I told my parents about it they weren?t too happy about it, but I never let it bother me. Being a filmmaker isn?t exactly the number one career choice for Asian women. However I still went on to university to study Film and Broadcast Production and graduated with honours in 2005. From there I worked on various productions before getting enough experience to become a producer for the Islam Channel.
I?m always under a lot of pressure spending time planning, organising and managing shoots that often run until late at night. It?s hard, as I don?t have any assistants to help arrange anything or absorb some of the workload. After all that it?s back home cooking for the family, playing host to friends and family visiting, or having a social life. As my job is something my parents can?t relate to they don?t understand exactly how hard this can get. It?s tiring but you have to have the will power to go on as your work life isn?t going to stop and neither is your family life. Just keep at it and have a lot of Red Bull.?
Faiza?s parents are convinced that her choice of career is a reason for her not getting any proposals, however she remains unfazed by this. ?The biggest challenge for me is convincing my parents of my career choice as they wanted me to work in a bank. Although this has changed quite a bit since I started working at the Islam Channel. Now my job is more credible in their eyes but not totally convinced.?
Whereas Faiza has to constantly struggle to find a balance between work and home, there are those out there who are more fortunate.
Minnal Ladva, 27, is a married Gujarati, who works as a director/operations manager for an IT recruitment consultancy firm. Not only responsible for over ?1.2m worth of turnover for the company, Minnal also managed to double the sales in her division. Despite this achievement she finds her greatest challenge to be, ?Finding the right balance between work and home, being able to achieve my full potential at work and being able to fulfil my duties as a wife and daughter in law. I have been lucky to have an understanding family and husband who have supported me to the fullest in balancing my duties.? Minnal states that both her maternal and marital families have always encouraged her to follow her dreams and given her support to achieve her goals, instead of putting her in the position of choosing between career and family. ?My husband is the best. He?s a very modern man and is always sharing the house chores. We discuss everything with each other before making any decisions whether it?s about work or home. My family are liberal and open minded when it came to my career choices, as they see that times are changing?.
An interesting correlation can be drawn here between the positions of women within western society compared to their counterparts in the subcontinent. Although traditionally a patriarchal society, the Indo-Pak subcontinent can now be seen as one of the mostly rapidly developing and cosmopolitan societies globally. The roles between men and women have changed dramatically over the past decade and the working woman has become a widely acceptable notion throughout the social stratification system. This change has not only been apparent in the more affluent upper class members of society in the subcontinent but has also infiltrated to the middle and lower sectors of the class system. In today?s cosmopolitan and global society, it is no longer uncommon to see women juggling professional and domestic duties.
Phoolan Nath, 29, is a domestic maid in the Andheri suburbs of Mumbai. For over 20 years Phoolan has been working in homes as a maid, and at the end of each day she returns to her family home to attend to her domestic family duties. Her Husband Raju Nath runs a snack stall, and their 2 daughters both attend an English Medium school. For Phoolan it is not the fact she is juggling home and employment, but more about making ends meet. Determined to provide better opportunities for her children, Phoolan feels strongly to her duty to earn towards her daughters future alongside her husband. For Phoolan, working is not a choice but a necessity.
In stark contrast we have the growth of the corporate career woman driven by progression and challenges.
Natasha Wadhwani, 26, is married to a well-known TV celebrity and lives in a better part of Andheri in a plush apartment. Her Husband earns substantially to be able to provide a luxury lifestyle. However rather than becoming a Lady of Leisure, Natasha chose to pursue a career as an International recruitment consultant. ? I don?t think I could have done this without the domestic support I have. I have 2 domestic helps at home, a cook and a cleaner. Thus I end up with a lot of spare time on my hands and there are only so many trips one can make to the gym and beauty salons. Nowadays in Mumbai it is acceptable for women to pursue careers with the support of the families. Times have changed and women no longer have to adhere to patriarchal restrictions imposed on them by culture society and religion. Women now make there own choices. And don?t forget we have had two women now in charge of this country, I think that says it all.?
It appears that the positions of Asian women are quite juxtaposed in the two countries. A paradox of roles seems to be in existence with Asians in the western hemisphere being perhaps more orthodox than their subcontinent counterparts.
Faiza expresses her outlook, "Society is often difficult to handle, but there is always a way of managing everything. It all comes down to whether you?re willing enough to do what it takes. There are plenty of women in Pakistan that are accountants, in marketing, TV presenting or whatever, that are doing this all day everyday. With a career and a family.?
Minnal?s views on introducing and encouraging education takes a strong stance in her belief. ?I believe that religion and culture and tradition need to be identified as separate issues. Religiously, we are taught to respect and honour women as mothers and sisters. Culturally, we need to provide greater exposure to education for women in Asia. This is the only route to improving their standing in communities and to improve those communities in terms of social and economic status.?
It?s obvious that the different backgrounds of all these women have led to (vastly) different views and opinions on the view of career and family. Faiza and Minnal are only two of the many Asian women in the UK sharing their thoughts on finding that balance between career and family, as well as the thoughts of our sub continent sisters. Which clearly means Xeher has only begun to scratch the surface.
