The identity of two generations of Muslim women living in Leicester, UK

The aim of this study was to consider the identity construction of two generations of Muslim women living in a British context. The study considered the relationship between mothers and daughters living in Leicester, and the ways in which they utilized the same resources such of family, religion, education and Britishness for developing a sense of identity. There was a need for such a research endeavour, because there is limited study on Muslim mother-daughter relationships in the British context that considered each group in equal measure. Thus, the study contributes to a better understanding of generational differences within Muslim women’s identities. The objectives of the study involved allowing Muslim women the opportunity to discuss themselves how they develop a sense of identity through how they negotiate private and public domains in order to maintain these identities. In looking at the two generations equally, the study was able to demonstrate differences between the level of religious attachment mothers and daughters had to Islam, the importance of the family in their lives; how educational aspirations are not always aligned with familial expectations; and finally attachment to a British society is generationally experienced. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and vignettes, the study shows that generational differences exist between the women in the study, demonstrated through the implementation of a researcher designed typology of identity.