We now know that a substantial majority of these\nmigrants were indeed from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), rather than Pakistan\nproper. The primary reason is an existing relationship which two regions in the\nerstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) known as Mirpur and Poonch, had\nwith the British naval and armed forces prior to the partition of 1947. Harsh\npolicies under the ruling powers of J&K (the Dogra Raj; Hussain 2021) left\nthese predominately Muslim areas severely under developed as a deliberate\nstrategy to maintain control of the state. Furthermore, Muslims were seldom\nrecruited into formal positions in J&K and as a result needed to leave the\nstate for employment elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The worst feature of the Dogra rule was its communal outlook which led to religious discrimination against the Muslims. This led to the marginalisation o the Muslims, including in the area that later became AJK. The disadvantages of the Muslims were made known to the outside world by Sir Albion Bannerji, the Foreign and Political Minister of Kashmir were \u2018governed like dumb driven cattle\u2019 <\/em>(in Hussain, 2021)<\/p>\n\n\n\n During these early days Pakistanis and other minorities experienced racism in the form of Paki-bashing<\/a> and signs on landlords\u2019 windows such as \u2018No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs\u2019. This further encouraged the minorities to live in areas where more of their community resided. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Policies, such as the Race Relations Act 1965, were introduced\nto address the racism and provide equal opportunities for the minority communities.\nThe Act was followed by subsequent legislation, such as the Race Relations Act 1976,\nwhich allowed for Positive Action to be implemented. This explained the meaning\nof underrepresentation: <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is under-representation for\nthese purposes only if, at any time during the previous 12 months either no\npeople from the racial group were doing the particular work at the\nestablishment in question, or the proportion of those doing the work at that\nestablishment coming from the particular racial group was small in comparison\nwith the proportion of all those employed at the establishment from that group,\nor with the proportion of the population of the area from which the establishment\nnormally recruits who come from that racial group. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Section 38 of the legislation employers were\nallowed to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Racial discrimination continued to be a feature of the\ndaily lives of the growing minority communities despite the policies. Anti-racist\nmovements were formed of all immigrant groups including British Pakistanis who began\nto increase their participation within the Trade Unions and local level\npolitics. As a result of increased lobbying the Race Relations Amendment Act\n2000 including a statutory duty on public bodies to promote race equality, and\nto demonstrate that procedures to prevent race discrimination are effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adopting the narrative of anti-racist movements \u2013\nnamely from the US and South Africa – activity was often organised under the\numbrella term Black, which came to be used for all minorities, including\nAsians. This led to research and policy responses to be focussed explicitly<\/em>\non Black (meaning African Caribbean) groups (Gillborn 2008, p39). According to\nthe Black intellectual Stuart Hall (1991), Black was created as a political\ncategory. \u201cIn the 1970s, for the first time, Black people recognized themselves\nas Black\u201d (p54). It was a political response by the Black community to adopt,\nas their own, this term which, until then had been used pejoratively. He also\npointed out how the term then went onto \u2018silence\u2019 other minority identities\n(p56): <\/p>\n\n\n\n It had a certain way of\nsilencing the very specific experiences of Asian people. Because though Asian people\ncould identify, politically, in the struggle against racism, when they came to\nusing their own culture as the resources of resistance, when they wanted to\nwrite out of their own experience and reflect on their own position, when they\nwanted to create, they naturally created within the histories of the languages,\nthe cultural tradition, the positions of people who came from a variety of\ndifferent historical backgrounds. And just as Black was the cutting edge of a\npolitics vis-\u00e0-vis one kind of enemy, it could also, if not understood\nproperly, provide a kind of silencing in relation to another. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, Modood (2005, p47) pointed out that the\nsilencing could be seen in policy discourse, well into the late 1980s: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cas is reflected in\nvirtually all CRE publications, local authorities\u2019 race discourse, academic\ntexts, the \u2018quality\u2019 press, radio and television, as well as in documents of\nmost central government departments and many large employers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistanis also came to lose out when their particular<\/em> needs were hidden under labels such as Asian, ethnic minorities, BAME and Muslim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was not until after the 1991 National Census for\nPopulation in England and Wales that comprehensive data on ethnic minorities \u2013\nincluding Pakistanis \u2013 was available. This helped to make the case that different\nservice provision needs were required based on ethnicity. The well-known study\nconducted by Modood and colleagues using the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic\nMinorities (1997) demonstrated clearly how a \u2018one size -or, in this case description\n– fits all\u2019 approach was inadequate in understanding community level dynamics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>The data showed the Pakistani population\nin England and Wales recorded as 455363 and this increased to 1124511 in the\nspace of two decades. In terms of the actual share of the population,\nPakistanis formed less than 1% of all people in England and Wales in 1991, 1.4%\nin 2001 and just over 2% in 2011. This constitutes a 1.1% increase compared to\n0.86% increase for Indians. This can be\nexplained in part by a slightly younger age profile among Pakistanis, compared\nwith Indians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We saw an increase in people from a Pakistani background\nobtaining a degree or higher degree (level 4\/5) qualification in 2011, with a\nquarter of British Pakistanis aged 16 or over reporting this. There was also a notable\ndecrease in the proportion of Pakistanis reporting no qualifications between\n2001 and 2011, with the figure being reduced from 41% to 25.5%. This is largely\na result of period of settlement and access to compulsory state education in\nBritain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The data\nsupports Modood and colleagues (1997)<\/strong> earlier findings, which reported\nthat people from some ethnic minority backgrounds, including Pakistanis, were\nmore likely to go on to higher education compared with the national average. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistanis are among the most likely to own their own\nhomes. This figure was also high for British Indians and notably higher than\nthe national average. In 2011 Pakistanis were the most likely ethnic group\n(minority and compared to the white majority) to live in a house that was not\nshared with anyone other than their family members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistanis reported living in terraced housing more than any other group and this reflects the areas in which communities formed and the most frequently accessible housing that was available. Samad<\/a> (page 6) for example writes, \u201cIn the UK in the Northern towns, Birmingham, Luton, Slough and parts of London there are Pakistani enclaves with high levels of housing concentration, a product of discrimination in the housing market and a propensity for home ownership (67% own their own homes) and lack of suitable social housing that can accommodate large families with average size of 4.4 persons per household.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Samad points out the consequence of this; parts of some\nBritish cites have localities that have high rates of concentration of\nPakistanis. As examples he offers Bradford, where Manningham ward has 60.1%\nPakistanis. And Birmingham, where Washwood Heath has 56.2% of the locality\npopulated not just by Pakistanis but usually members of the same biraderis\nusually Kashmiri clans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like elsewhere, the foundations of the Pakistani concentration in Birmingham had been laid in the early 1960s (Jones 1967). The top five Council wards with the presence of Pakistanis were: Aston, Balsall Heath, Market Hall (inner ring ward no longer in existence), Sparkbrook and Saltley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When our communities first arrived in the UK they settled wherever they could. This has led to segregation<\/a>. It means our community does not always have contact with other communities. This is a particular problem for our young people. It is possible for a Pakistani child to grow up in a neighbourhood where he is surrounded by people of not just Pakistani background (which is diverse) but those who are from the same area in Pakistan, where his family came from. Majority maybe even his biraderi, the wider family. The child may have his nursery education, primary and secondary schooling and college education in such a neighbourhood. Given the cost of higher education the child, now adult, may go to a local university while staying with his parents. Such a person is not ready to face the wider world. If he were to venture out even a few miles he would discover numerous other ethnic communities with their own different ways. When accessing jobs and other opportunities in this wider world, as well as having the necessary qualifications he would need to be diversity-literate i.e. know how to survive and hopefully thrive amongst difference which maybe new to him. In particular, he would need to be \u2018White-literate\u2019, know and understand the ways of the majority community who control much of the power and opportunities. Such diversity-literacy is now seen as advantageous with an economic bonus. Ted Cantle, an expert in cohesion and diversity, told me in an email that \u201cmany employers are now looking for employees that can think in international or global terms, as that reflects their business. Applicants will lose out if they are not equipped for this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n British Pakistanis continue to have a younger age profile compared with the national average. In 2011, only 3% of British Pakistanis were aged 70 or over compared with 5.5% of Indians and 11.6% of the population on a whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to figures published by the ONS in 2020, Pakistanis are more likely to be self-employed<\/a> compared with all other groups. Fifteen percent of all people nationally are self-employed; however, this increases to 25% for Pakistanis. Furthermore, previous census figures provide an insight into the kinds of industries and occupation type Pakistanis are concentrated. Sixteen percent of Pakistanis reported being in managerial or professional occupations, with a further 19.3 % reporting intermediate and 23.5 % indicating routine or manual occupations. Almost a quarter had either never worked or were long-term unemployed; and 16% were full-time students in 2011. Whatever the cultural or other explanations for this, the sort of jobs Pakistani are concentrated in are generally low paid and have limited prospects for progression, training and wage increases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of socioeconomic indicators, a report by the Resolution Foundation<\/a> pointed out that (after Bangladeshis \u00a316,400), Pakistanis have the lowest household income, at \u00a316,600. The report also pointed out the low rate of employment amongst Pakistani women (37%, compared with 72% white females). <\/p>\n\n\n\n A report by Khan<\/a> provided figures for median household wealth across ethnic groups. Pakistanis were reported as having an average accumulated wealth of \u00a3127,000 per household compared with \u00a3282,000 for White British and \u00a3266,000 for Indian households. However, the Pakistani figure was higher than that of Black Caribbean (89,000), Other Asian (\u00a350,000) Bangladeshis and Black Africans (\u00a328,000). <\/p>\n\n\n\n A combination of i) period\nof settlement, ii) area of migration \u2013 in terms of whether it was rural or\nurban and whether the skills brought with migrants were directly applicable to\na British landscape \u2013 in the form of \u2018human capital\u2019; iii) as well as accumulation of financial\ncapital on migration, all contributed to the \u2018starting\u2019 position of communities,\nwith some already being at an advantage compared with others. Modood for\nexample differentiated between African Asians and other Asian groups as the\nformer are \u2018twice-migrants\u2019 and already attained capital wealth and skills\nduring their settlement in Africa prior to migration to Britain. There are a\nhigher proportion of Indians among the twice-migrants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore,\nthere is now ample evidence of a \u2018culture\u2019 racism as well as a colour racism\nexperienced in the UK. Modood et al\n(1997) argued that the common understanding of the ways racism works, <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGrossly\nunderstates the current scale of the disadvantage of Pakistanis and\nBangladeshis, and takes no account either of cultural differences between South\nAsians, or political alienation sometimes expressed in terms of a political\nMuslim identity\u201d (p. 147) <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, some minority communities are perceived more positively than others are. In 2018 YouGov <\/a>conducted a survey with the British public in which it was reported that immigrants from India scored higher in terms of how positively they were perceived (+25) compared with Pakistanis (-4) . These figures are calculated based on whether those surveyed believed Indian and Pakistani immigrants provided a negative or positive contribution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The difference in figures is stark, yet not surprising given the culture racism discussed by some scholars which is very much related to being Muslim and the prevalence anti-Muslim prejudice<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hussain\n(2017) found that even among British Muslims, some groups were more likely to\nface greater levels of disadvantage than others, for example, Black Muslim\nwomen scored the highest in terms of a number of socio-economic indicators when\ncompared to white Muslim men . Therefore, we know that racism is not\nexperienced as a blanket phenomenon, but impact some communities more than\nothers in terms of the way they are perceived at a societal level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Iqbal\n(2013) produced a case study of Birmingham which has the largest (14% of the\ncity, at 150,000) Pakistani population in the UK. Throughout the city\u2019s\norganisations and key decision-making bodies Pakistanis were underrepresented.\nA number of these had a racially diverse workforce but when examined the racial\nminorities were often Black Caribbean and Indian. For example Birmingham City\nCouncil had set up employment targets in 2001: 5.3% for Indians and 6.9% for\nPakistanis. This was determined by the size of the two communities in the city.\nA Freedom of Information request in 2020 pointed out that the City Council had\nstill not achieved its twenty-year old target for the Pakistanis; they were\n5.6% of the workforce against their presence in the local population of 14%\n(according to Census 2011). Indians in the Council workforce were 6.42%\ncompared with their presence in the City of 4.6% (according to Census\n2011). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Several theoretical issues are raised when\ndiscussing the possession of wealth or the persistence of disadvantage through\ndifferential labour market participation for minorities. Human capital amongst\nthese is a key area and much has been made of education as a means of tackling\nracial disadvantage in order to accelerate social mobility (Berthoud 2000). However\nexpectations, alienation, stereotyping and the greater discrimination of some\ngroups are also areas discussed. Crucially it has been found that disadvantage\nremains after controlling for a range of individual and area factors. At the\nforefront of minority labour market progress and participation is the\ndiscussion of \u2018ethnic penalties\u2019. Cheng\nand Heath describe ethnic penalties as referring to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll sources of\ndisadvantage that might lead an ethnic group to fare less well in the labour\nmarket than to similarly qualified Whites\u2019 and that \u2018discrimination is likely\nto be the major component.\u201d (1993:1). \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Modood et al (1997) found that 20% of non-White\nrespondents believed they had been refused a job because of their ethnicity and\nnearly half of those reporting this claimed to have had such an experience in\nthe five years prior to the survey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Two studies using data from the Labour Force Survey\nfound that although all ethnic minority groups suffered an ethnic penalty these\nwere not at the same rate. It has in the past been suggested that Caribbean men\nespecially faced an ethnic penalty, however as Berthoud found African,\nPakistani and Bangladeshis were in a very similar position. And he wrote, <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPart but only a small part of disadvantage in the\nlabour market could be explained on the basis of the relatively low educational\nqualifications achieved earlier in life: degree for degree, A \u2018level for A\n\u2018level young Pakistani and Bangladeshi men were worse off than their White\nequivalents\u201d (2000:412). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Modood et al (1997) found that all minority groups\nunder study were more likely to be unemployed than equally qualified Whites,\nhowever, Pakistani and Bangladeshi males suffered the highest penalty and Indian\nmales the smallest. In addition, analysis of similarly qualified candidates for\ncourses in higher education it was discovered that Caribbean and Pakistani\nstudents had lower chances of entry to the red brick and more prestigious\nuniversities. They argue that penalties vary considerably between minority\ngroups. For their analysis they used maximum likelihood methods to demonstrate\nthat ethnic penalties experienced by minorities are not fully explained by\ndifferences in human capital and personal characteristics. They concluded that\nat least some of the disadvantage experienced by ethnic minorities can be\ncredited to discriminatory selection practice by employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Becker (1971) also argues that when hired the\ndiscriminated group are paid a wage lower than their actual productivity. Discrimination in selection processes is, therefore,\ncoherent with lower occupational status as well as higher unemployment and\nlower average earnings for ethnic minorities. This certainly fits in with\ndescriptions of Muslim graduates who managed to gain employment within\nsuccessful companies but who felt that they did not fit in with the \u2018office\nculture\u2019, were unable to participate in many aspects of \u2018team building\u2019\nparticularly where they are limited in socialising with colleagues or felt\nuncomfortable with the pub lunches and after work business dinner venues.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Blackaby et al (1997) suggest that the higher rates of unemployment for some groups may be more socially damaging than simple wage inequality. There are arguments regarding groups who are aware that they face greater levels of marginalisation and differential incorporation resulting in a loss of desire for social mobility within a society which is viewed as alien. Young men who see themselves as being denied jobs on grounds of their ethnicity may adopt alternative lifestyles in which resentment of the social structure can lead to conflict with the establishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistanis are still the most likely to live in poverty and deprivation, where families can become locked into disadvantage for generations. In the House of Commons report: \u2018Child Poverty in the UK<\/a>\u2019, it was pointed out that 26% of white children lived in income poverty compared with 75% Pakistani children (but only 22% Indian children). The disadvantage can be apparent in multiple domains \u2013 employment, health, and quality of their accommodation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Following are some extracts from the above government report<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most concentrated pockets of deprivation are found among\nethnic minority groups, particularly Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black groups. <\/em>p38<\/p>\n\n\n\n People in the most deprived neighbourhoods tend to be\ndisadvantaged across multiple aspects of life. Pakistani and Bangladeshi people\nwere overrepresented in the most deprived neighbourhoods in England: 31% or\naround 346,000 of the Pakistani population and 28% or around 113,000 of the Bangladeshi\npopulation lived in the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in England. <\/em>p40-41<\/p>\n\n\n\n Homeownership figures are: Indian 74%; White British: 68%;\nPakistanis: 58%. <\/em>p40<\/p>\n\n\n\n The life chances of the child of a Harrow-raised British\nIndian accountant and the child of a Bradford-raised British Pakistani\ntaxi-driver are as wide apart as they are, partly because of the UK’s economic\ngeography. <\/em>p29<\/p>\n\n\n\n The employment rates for the White British and Indian ethnic\ngroups were 77% and 76% respectively in 2019. For some others it was\nsignificantly lower at 69% for Black people, and 56% for people in the combined\nPakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group (this last figure is the result of a much\nlower female participation rate). <\/em>p105 <\/p>\n\n\n\n The pandemic is likely to have a mixed impact on the\nemployment rate and financial stability of ethnic minority groups. For example,\nworking in sectors shut down by the pandemic and being self-employed is\nparticularly prevalent among Pakistani and Bangladeshi men. <\/em>p108<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hourly median pay gap between all minorities and the\nWhite British ethnic group has shrunk to 2.3%, its smallest level since 2012\nwhen it was 5.1%.223 This headline figure hides some large variations: the\nPakistani ethnic group earned 16% less on average than the White British group.\n<\/em>p110. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most ethnic groups are now broadly level with the White\nethnic group in terms of occupational class\u2026.with the exception of men from the\nBlack Caribbean and combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups. <\/em>p112<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Pakistani\/Bangladeshi men along with Black\nAfrican and Black Caribbean men, were the most vulnerable to unemployment in\ntimes of economic downturn, with the chances of getting a position in the top\noccupational class also declining over the decades for first generation\nPakistani\/Bangladeshi men. <\/em>p112<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the recent report by Laura Bear<\/a>, for the ethnicity subgroup of Sage (the Scientific Advisory Group) has shed further light on the Pakistani (and Bangladeshi) community. While her focus was on Covid-19, it does point to the more general situation of the community. The following information is directly quoted from her report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026our findings show that multiple disadvantages faced by\nethnic groups join together to produce infection and death from Covid-19.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In summary, (Pakistani) experience more chronic,\ndebilitating health conditions at a younger age due to health disparities. They\nmainly work in jobs in small-scale retail, transportation and hospitality,\nleading to greater exposure to Covid-19. Being precarious employees or business\nowners means that they are less able to negotiate paid sick leave or to stay\nhome when unwell.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Health inequities<\/em><\/strong>: British Pakistani men and women have the highest levels of\nself-reported poor health of all ethnic groups. Pakistanis suffer severe,\ndebilitating underlying conditions at a younger age and more often than other\nminority ethnic groups due to health inequalities. They are more likely to have\ntwo or more health conditions that interact to produce greater risk of death\nfrom Covid-19 (high confidence). <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Occupation<\/em><\/strong>: Pakistanis are more likely to be involved in: work that\ncarries risks of exposure (e.g. retail, hospitality, taxi driving); precarious\nwork where it is more difficult to negotiate safe working conditions or absence\nfor sickness; and small-scale self-employment with a restricted safety net and\nhigh risk of business collapse (high confidence). <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In late September into October 2020, when case numbers were\nrising rapidly across most UK regions, hospitality and non-essential retail was\nkept open, exposing workers to risk of infection. When the UK entered a\nnational lockdown on 5th November, essential retail remained open along with\ntakeaway services even as numbers of cases rose steeply. At this point the\nrelatively more transmissible variant emerged, creating a potentially greater\nrisk of exposure for Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups who remained unable to\nwork from home. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Precarity of Work<\/em><\/strong>: Pakistanis are also more likely to work in precarious work\n(short-term, contractual work, usually without union protection (high\nconfidence). In this situation it is difficult to negotiate sick-leave, and if\nsick-leave is taken employees may be dismissed or penalised with shorter hours.\nThe economic downturn is likely to have affected Bangladeshi and Pakistani\ncommunities disproportionately especially because of their profile of\nprecarious work and self-employment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Self-employment<\/em><\/strong>: (where incomes may be especially uncertain) is also more prevalent\namongst Pakistani men. Pakistani men are over 70% more likely to be\nself-employed than White British men. This presents distinct difficulties in\nreducing the risk of exposure or self-isolating in the event of symptoms, as\nmost self-employed work among Pakistani men involves contact with the public.\nNon-attendance at work would risk business’ viability, in part because\ngovernment measures only offered one-off loans to small businesses and\ninitially did not support the self-employed. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Household circumstances<\/em><\/strong> among Pakistani families amplify\ndisadvantage due to higher numbers of multigenerational households, family\nmembers with chronic, disabling illness (at a younger age) and women involved\nin care work for family or others<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Stigma<\/em><\/strong>: Pakistanis face intersecting forms of stigma and racism\nrelating to their ethnic and their religious identity, and triggering events\nintensify experiences of stigma, including media coverage and central\ngovernment Covid-19 interventions, for instance introducing restrictions during\ncelebrations such as Eid and Ramadan. Stigma can cause health inequalities,\ndrive morbidity and mortality, and undermine access to health services (medium\nconfidence). 8. Over-burdened health services<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Education is\ngenerally a determinant of success or failure in life. With reference to the\nPakistani children it has been known that they have been behind many of the\nlarger ethnic groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When data\nfirst became available, in 1991, it was found that Pakistani children were\nunderachieving. At this point 37% of white students were achieving 5AC at GCSE.\nThe figure was 38% for Indian and 26% for Pakistani children. Since then\nPakistani children have been playing catch-up. They have continued to do better\nbut so have other children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sewell\nReport states that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Education is the single most emphatic success story of the\nBritish ethnic minority experience. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As we have seen, not all ethnic minority groups are\nsucceeding. In particular, the Commission acknowledges the need to support\nBlack Caribbean, Mixed White and Black Caribbean, Traveller of Irish Heritage,\nGypsy and Roma, and Pakistani boys from low socio-economic backgrounds, and\nlower socio-economic status White British pupils. <\/em>P70<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, Pakistani\nchildren were 4.4% of the population in English schools overall. However, in\nnursery schools Pakistani children made up 9% of the children, which points to\nthe future school population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Casey Review<\/a> pointed out that in 2014 nearly 10,000 Pakistani children had left school without the benchmark 5+ A*-C grades including English and maths GCSEs. The most recent data on this is shown below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistani children have not succeeded in education\nlike other groups. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Numbers and percentage of pupils NOT<\/strong>\ngetting a strong pass (grade 5 or above) in English and maths GCSE by ethnicity\n2019-2020 school year (P55)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2019-20<\/p>\n\n\n\n White British 194,574 50.8%<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistani 12,671 52.2%<\/p>\n\n\n\n Black African 10,500 49.3%<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indian 4,774 29.6%<\/p>\n\n\n\n Black Caribbean 4810 65.2%<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bangladeshi 4428 42.7%<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gypsy\/Roma 1244 91.9%<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chinese 399 20.4%<\/p>\n\n\n\n The situation in 2018 was similar, as shown in the\nchart below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The largest number of ethnic minority pupils leaving\nschool without the benchmark qualifications of 5 good GCSEs are British\nPakistani children. That amounts to nearly 13000 children. It is worth asking\nwhat happens to these children. How many\nbecome involved in crime? How many end up in prison? What sort of citizens,\nneighbours, employees do they become? Many are boys. Bearing in mind Pakistani\ngirls do better in education, what sort of husbands and fathers do the boys\nbecome? The big question is: who is going to speak up about this problem?\nMembers of Parliament, local councillors, Pakistani organisations? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Related to education and employment are the figures for the teacher workforce. There is a serious shortage of Pakistani teachers<\/a>. The situation is even worse at deputy and headteacher level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As well as addressing the underrepresentation of Pakistanis in the teaching workforce, we need more representation on school governing bodies and at the structural levels of education in the UK. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the <\/em>(Sewell) Commission’s belief that all professions should\nseek to represent the communities they serve. <\/em>P76<\/p>\n\n\n\n Findings from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and\nCultural Organization (UNESCO) suggest that teacher diversity makes it more\nlikely that children of different backgrounds (whether ethnic, disability,\nclass and so on) will have someone who understands their background and a role\nmodel to look up to.<\/em>p125\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Experiences from the Commission’s call for evidence also\nhighlight that although teachers from ethnic minorities are valuable in that\nthey bring their lived experiences to the classroom and push for a broader\ncurriculum\u2026 <\/em>p75<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethnic minorities are also under-represented in school\ngovernance. 94% of governors and trustees who took part in the National\nGovernance Association (NGA) survey identified as White, 1% identified as\nBlack, 2% identified as Asian, and 1% identified as having Mixed ethnicity.<\/em>p128<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Diverse boards, that are reflective of school communities,\ncan ensure that decisions taken are in the interest of all pupils, thereby\nincreasing the confidence of parents and wider communities in these decisions. <\/em>p75<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, it is\nnecessary to point out that diversity is essential in service organisations.\nWhere the staff are representative of a community, in this case the Pakistanis,\nthey are more likely to provide an appropriate and culturally competent\nservice. And where the decision-making bodies are diverse they are more likely\nto reflect the views of the Pakistani community. It is the community\u2019s\ndemocratic right to speak for itself in such bodies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sewell\nReport has asked the Department for Education to produce guidance on data\ncollection, monitoring and analysis to better support understanding and drive\npolicy interventions in this area, engaging and collaborating with local\nauthorities across the UK because of the importance of local context and local\ndata. It would be good for NPO (Network of Pakistani Organisations) to write a\nletter to DfE, to make sure there is proper focus on Pakistani as a data\ncategory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Aspirations<\/strong> play a key role in education. This\ninfluences whether young people go to university and\/or the type of jobs they\ndo. According to the Sewell Report the aspirations of Pakistani boys are\nreasonably high but lower than Pakistani girls. The report (p97) also points\nout that Pakistani graduates earn the least of all major ethnic groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sewell\nReport emphasises the importance of homework and participation in\nextra-curricular activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The contribution of parents to supporting a child’s learning\nis significant and a stable home provides a supportive context for children to\ncomplete homework, ask for assistance and develop their confidence and\nwellbeing. <\/em>P61<\/p>\n\n\n\n Previous research has found that Indian students are the\nethnic group most likely to complete homework five evenings a week. <\/em>P70<\/p>\n\n\n\n On average, across OECD countries, students who have access\nto a room for homework at school scored 14 points higher in reading than\nstudents without access to a room for homework.<\/em> P84<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elite universities, for example, often look for evidence of\nextra-curricular activity such as volunteering when selecting students. <\/em>p98<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research on\nPakistani children (Iqbal 2018) has shown that homework is an issue for them.\nMany, especially those from poorer families, do not have quiet space in which\nto do their homework. Many children do not have the time to their homework as\nthey go to the madrassah after school and by the time they return home they are\ntoo tired. Even if they do manage to do the homework, many do not have someone\nto help them with it. One solution could be the setting up of homework clubs in\nthe madrassah, with help from the local schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, such children missed out on extra-curricular\nactivities which are an important part of education. According to Iqbal (2018)\nsuch activities have been said to be beneficial especially for low socioeconomic\nstatus students. There is now emphasis on cultural literacy and cultural\ncapital in education. Participation in extracurricular activities is said to be\none source of such literacy and capital. Extracurricular activities enable children\nto acquire a valuable set of white-collar work skills – how to set priorities,\nmanage an itinerary, shake hands with strangers, and work on a team. Research\nhas shown that students who participated in extracurricular activities did\nbetter academically than their peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Ofsted education outside the classroom\nleads to improved outcomes in achievement, motivation, personal development and\nbehaviour. It also provides extra depth to pupils\u2019 learning and experience. Young\npeople who participate in such activities tend to have higher test scores, a positive\nacademic attitude and better attendance. Participation in extracurricular\nactivities has implications for community cohesion as it is an opportunity for\npupils to interact with those outside of their own ethnic group. Those who\nparticipate in them meet many new people, who they otherwise would not\nencounter. This facilitates encounters between young people from different\nethnic and faith groups and leads to better understanding, thereby building\ncommunity cohesion and tackling the tensions between different groups in the\ncommunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research has shown that extra-curricular activities\nenabled young people to gain entry to university and lead successful lives in\nthe workplace. They pointed out that whilst academic grades were the most\nimportant factor considered by university admissions teams, evidence of\nextra-curricular activities remains an important part of the application\nprocess for 97% of respondents. Universities most value evidence of\nextra-curricular activities when deciding between applicants with similar\ngrades and for courses that have an interview stage. Majority of universities\nindicated that it was important for students to demonstrate experience beyond\nacademic achievements in their university applications and that 20- 30% of a\nstudent’s personal statement should be focused on extra-curricular experience. The\ncapital that results from such activities can lead to familiarity with the\ndominant culture in society and ability to understand and use educated\nlanguage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For students who apply to Oxford, cultural knowledge has\nbeen found to play a significant role, alongside academic attainment, \u201cperhaps\nbecause it allows the applicant to persuade the admissions tutors that they\nhave the right sort of intellectual breadth and potential, which may not be\nadequately assessed by examination results\u201d. The children also missed out on\nextra teaching activities. They were not able to stay and develop friendships\nwith children from other ethnic groups. After they had been to the mosque they\ndid not have enough time to do their homework. They were also too tired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mosques could work in partnership with local schools\nand organise homework groups as well. The children are there already. Mosques\nare quiet places which is what the children need for their homework and\nsomething they do not always have at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sewell Report proposes an extended school day, prioritising disadvantaged areas to provide pupils with the opportunity to engage in physical and cultural activities that enrich lives and build social and cultural capital. The Pakistani community are named here as being two groups in particular who would benefit from this provision. This would need to be fitted in to or around the children\u2019s attendance at the mosque. Simultaneously, there is a need for good quality supplementary education. We have to be demanding on our mosque and madrassah teachers to provide a good quality and rounded education, which makes learning applicable to everyday life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A report on home learning and schools\u2019 provision of distance teaching during school closure of COVID-19 lockdown in the UK has found inequalities experienced by Pakistani children.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Children receiving free school meals, from single-parent\nhouseholds, with less-educated parents, and with Pakistani and Bangladeshi\nheritage spend significantly less time on schoolwork at home than their peers\nduring the COVD-19 school closure. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Children with Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds spend\nthe least amount of time on home learning and are overrepresented in not\nreceiving distance teaching provisions. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 we find children who previously received free school\nmeals, those from lower-educated and single-parent families, and those with\nPakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds devote significantly less time to\nschoolwork at home during the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026 primary and secondary school children with Pakistani or\nBangladeshi backgrounds (P\/B) spend substantially less time on home learning\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As there are proportionally more children with Pakistani or\nBangladeshi backgrounds who are in school but do not receive any schoolwork,\nthe extent of disadvantage these children experience might be even larger than\nour estimations.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That is, it is not ethnicity that makes Pakistani or\nBangladeshi children study less each day; rather, their schools are less involved\nin ongoing learning. These schools may have fewer resources, or they may be in\nareas more affected by the pandemic. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sewell Report made these comments on Pakistani\nwomen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Women in the Pakistani\/Bangladeshi group also tend to have\npersistent disadvantages relative to White women in terms of both employment\nstatus and class position. Three quarters of the first generation and around\nhalf of the second-generation women in this group were economically inactive,\nalthough the situation has improved in the current decade<\/em>. p112<\/p>\n\n\n\n More than half of women in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups are economically inactive, compared with a quarter of White women. This helps explain why Pakistani and Bangladeshi families are disproportionately represented in lower income deciles\u2026. adults from a Bangladeshi and Pakistani background were the most likely not to speak English well or at all<\/em>. p43<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a number of particular health problems faced by the community. Pakistani men have the highest rate of heart disease in UK and Pakistanis are 5 or 6 times more likely to have type 2 diabetes<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From time to time the issue of infant and perinatal mortality appears in relation to the Pakistani community. Two recent reports have focused on this issue in the West Midlands. According to one report<\/a>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026proposed causal factor for this is the higher rates of\nconsanguineous relationships in the Pakistani community. It was found that\n49.9% of Pakistani mothers were in consanguineous relationships, compared to\n15.9% across the whole cohort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Only mothers from Pakistan had a statistically significantly higher proportion of stillbirths compared to mothers born in the UK<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other report<\/a> pointed out that while there are 14% Pakistanis in Birmingham they account \u201cfor 34% of total child deaths, 45% of chromosomal, congenital and genetic deaths and 21% of perinatal and neonatal deaths.\u201d The \u201cprevalence of the West Midlands consanguineous unions was around 50% in Pakistani mothers\u201d. , <\/p>\n\n\n\n Muslims make up 4 % of the population but currently\nare 15% of the prison population. What are the causes of this\ndisproportionality? What are the links with educational underachievement? What\nare the other causes? The issue deserves our attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pakistanis were late arrivals in the UK, certainly as a settled community, with families and children, as a result of the \u2018myth of return\u2019:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many years Pakistani\nmen in the UK were of the view that they were here temporarily and would return\nhome after they have made enough money. This meant they did little towards\nsettling down. Meanwhile, other communities (such as Black Caribbean and\nIndian) had begun to settle down and engage with struggles for equality. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The myth only became articulated and known as such at the publication of Anwar\u2019s book (1979). They were already disadvantaged as a community, going back generations under the Dogra and British rule. Upon arrival in the UK they were behind other minority groups and have stayed behind. The disadvantage has continued to be passed onto the younger generation causing them to underachieve in education. They in turn will pass it to their children unless steps are taken otherwise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Often Pakistani disadvantage <\/em>and exclusion can be hidden in umbrella categories such as BAME, BME, Asian and Muslim. This is especially so where the advantaged <\/em>communities such as Indian and Chinese are included. In Birmingham, it was found (Iqbal 2013) that a number of organisations (Birmingham City Council, Birmingham University) had a diverse\/BAME\/BME\/Asian workforce. However, when the data were unpicked it was discovered that Pakistanis were underrepresented or completely absent. Khan<\/a> has made a similar argument, with reference to BME graduates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If, say, a target for a greater number of BME graduates were applied, this would most likely benefit Chinese and Indian people before benefiting Black, Bangladeshi or Pakistani people. This is, in fact, what we observe in the Civil Service fast stream, where the overall BME proportion now nearly (but not quite) matches the overall population, while very few Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin people are appointed, and almost none are appointed in some year. <\/em>p15<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is good to see the Sewell Report support diversity\nacross \u201call professions\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the Commission’s belief that all professions should\nseek to represent the communities they serve. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n teacher diversity makes it more likely that children of\ndifferent backgrounds will have someone who understands their background and a\nrole model to look up to. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethnic minorities are also under-represented in school\ngovernance. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Diverse boards, that are reflective of school communities,\ncan ensure that decisions taken are in the interest of all pupils, thereby\nincreasing the confidence of parents and wider communities in these decisions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unless there is a specific and targeted focus on the\nPakistani community\u2019s representation in organisations as employees and\ndecision-makers, the community will continue to be absent or poorly\nrepresented. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Such targeted focus to address the problem will require\npositive steps. This has been allowed, as Positive Action, under the equality\nlegislation since as far back as the 1976 Race Relations Act but has made\nlittle difference to the community. What is required is a change in law, to\nallow Positive Discrimination for the Pakistanis. Only then will we see a truly\nrepresentative workforce and decision-makers – across the education sector,\nservice organisations, professions, employers – and achievement in education\nthat compares favourably with communities such as the Indians, Chinese and now\nBangladeshi. Such a change in the law will require the support of elected\nrepresentatives; the councillors and the Members of Parliament and campaigning\norganisations. With a levelled playing field Pakistanis will then be in a\nposition to compete with others more fairly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There has been little discussion of such an idea. With\nreference to Birmingham (Iqbal 2013), it was suggested that given the wholesale\nexclusion of Pakistanis, from opportunities and power, a city-wide Positive\nAction scheme should be put into place across all institutions. Since then Khan\nhas supported a similar approach in his report. He has pointed out that, while arguments\nfor specific policies are not well understood in society, the \u201cresponse,\nhowever, should be to adopt a variety of targets for different BME groups, and\nespecially to target those that are most disadvantaged\u201d (p15). <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to\nthe Sewell Report the causes of unequal outcomes for some ethnic groups are not\njust to do with racism but are caused by broader factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The picture of educational achievement across ethnic groups\nis complex, and different social, economic and cultural factors contribute to\nthis: parental income levels, parental career and educational achievement,\ngeography, family structure, and attitudes towards education within the family\nand wider community. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pay determining characteristics used by the ONS here are the\nfollowing: ethnicity; country of birth; occupation; highest qualification\nlevel; age; sex; marital status; working pattern; disability status; working in\nthe public or private sector; geography; whether they have children or not.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nData on Pakistanis<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Housing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Diversity <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Employment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Income<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Understanding ethnic differentials<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Discussion on ethnic penalties<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Pakistani Disadvantage<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
The Sewell\nReport<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Bear Report<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Education<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.forwardpartnership.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.forwardpartnership.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHomework and extra-curricular activities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Extended school day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Covid disadvantage <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pakistani women <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Health <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Prison<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Positive discrimination\nfor Pakistanis <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Causes of differential\noutcomes?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n