Runaway Asian Girls in Glasgow: The Role and Response of the Community

Abstract

The problem of young runaways is not an uncommon one in Glasgow. Increasing unemployment, poverty, family break-ups and cuts in social security benefits contribute to a number of young people running away from home. The Asians of the city have also witnessed the emergence of this problem within their community.1 Instances of youngsters, especially girls, overthrowing parental authority and control and defying norms are on the rise.2 In this paper I look into the problem of young Asian girls who runaway from home and thus reject the established socio-cultural patterns of their community. At the outset, it is important to clarify that the problem of runaway girls affects only a very small part of the Asian population and is an exception rather than the rule within the community.3 Small numbers notwithstanding, the significance of studying such a group cannot be denied given the dearth of academic research on young Asian girls in Scotland. The Kiran Jha received her PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2002. She lived in Glasgow for four years from i993 to i996, where she worked with young homeless persons. She was a journalist in Goa for a year, and now teaches at a private school in Kanpur. 'The term 'Asian' refers to the Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi migrants to the UK from the subcontinent and their descendents. 2 An exploratory research showed that Asian boys by and large did not run away from home because their needs and aspirations were met within the family framework. 3 The total South Asian population of Glasgow was approximately 15,000 of which i0,945 were Pakistanis, 3,374 were Indians and i91 were Bangladeshis. See Dal ton and Hampton (1994) for further details.