‘What would your father say?’: Izzat, identity and belonging in the educational journeys of British Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani women

Drawing on data from thirty in-depth qualitative interviews, this article uses the idea of ‘intersectional complexity’ (Collins and Bilge 2016) and Mirza’s (2013) concept of ‘embodied intersectionality’, to examine how identity and belonging are negotiated in their secondary and post-secondary educational journeys of British women from Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani (BIP) heritages. It identifies how the participants experience their world through a system of policing ‘good’ conduct through the vigilant gaze of the ‘baradari’ (community) and structured through the concept of izzat (often understood as honour). It demonstrates how women’s rights are mediated through their bodies, and how opportunities were impacted by social divisions such as social class, gender and race. The findings suggest that the many of the women are utilising their experiences of the education system to improve opportunities and outcomes for other female family members, but this is hampered by structural educational inequalities. An argument is made that it is problematic when schools homogenise and reinforce the boundaries drawn by izzat.