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Religion - peace or repression?
5 Muslim girls reveal their experiences

'I am fortunate to live
in two worlds'

In August, Nadia Anwer is going to leave her huge family circle of more than 1000 Muslims and move to France with her future husband.

Looking back, she considers herself lucky having grown up in a community of Pakistani immigrants in Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Living in two worlds as the second generation of an immigrant family is not a problem to her. "It's quite good having two cultures," the 25-year-old journalist says.

"You can see everything from the outside and take the best from both worlds."

Of course, she admits, sometimes it was hard to live in a Western culture but not being able to take part in certain activities.

"If all your friends from university go out clubbing, you feel a bit left out," Nadia explains.

Although a certain amount of conflict was predetermined, her parents "were usually reasonable with her", willing to find compromises and to listen to her.

 

 

Nadia is aware she is lucky in that respect; she knows other Pakistani families who are more conservative and did not let their daughters socialise outside their community or study.

"Those families are often uneducated. The reasons to suppress women are rather cultural than religious," Nadia believes, "Islam tells Muslim parents to educate their daughters."

Despite having been introduced to several "eligible bachelors" from the Pakistani community, Nadia found love without matchmaking.

"For a few days it was a shock for my family that I decided to marry a French Muslim instead of a Pakistani," the bride-to-be remembers,

"but then everybody concluded that as long as he was Muslim, it's fine." .

Community life seems to be both pleasure and a burden, "we are meeting all the time and have at least six marriages a year," Nadia recalls.

"But there is also an immense pressure on you and your family to keep your honour within the community. If you lose it, you'll be an outcast.".......... ..............
..................... ............ continue reading feature

...listen to Nadia's description of a
brutal honour killing in Scotland