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Kinship, Cultural Preference and Immigration: Consanguineous Marriage Among British Pakistanis
Author(s) -
Shaw Alison
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of the royal anthropological institute
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1467-9655
pISSN - 1359-0987
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9655.00065
Subject(s) - kinship , caste , preference , immigration , context (archaeology) , sociology , relation (database) , interpretation (philosophy) , demographic economics , gender studies , genealogy , geography , political science , history , economics , law , anthropology , programming language , archaeology , database , computer science , microeconomics
This article offers an analysis and interpretation of a high rate of marriage to relatives, especially first cousins, in a sample of second‐generation British Pakistanis. It argues that the high rate of such marriage is not a simple reflection of a cultural preference. A better explanation requires an analysis of the factors that influence the decisions and choices of the marriage arrangers in the particular context of Pakistani migration to Britain. The article also underlines the inadequacy of a blanket category ‘Pakistani’ in relation to marriage patterns and choices. Variation according to region of origin, caste, socio‐economic status, and upbringing must be brought into focus to reveal the processes that have generated the pattern, and to offer clues to its likely persistence.