Sanjay said, “I was married to my first wife for about a year before we separated” Sanjay continued, “I wanted my wife to stay at home, and for us to start a family,” “my wife didn’t want to stay at home, she wanted to continue with her career.” Sanjay continued, “I believe that a woman’s place is in the home and it is important for her to look after the house and the children after these responsibilities she can pursue a career.”
Ali said, “I don’t completely agree as the maintenance of the house and children nowadays are a joint responsibility between Husband and Wife.” Ali’s eye caught the flight arrivals board, which indicated that their flight had landed.”
Ali told Sanjay that their flight had arrived.
Sanjay said, “I expect my wife to leave her job when she becomes pregnant.” Sanjay continued, “I wouldn’t want her to work again until our child was at least three years old, and starting nursery.”
Ali said “Goodbye!”
Ali thought to himself he had a different outlook on marriage and family roles than Sanjay, though it was good to see him after so long.
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Commentary
The story is based on a meeting between two old friends at an airport. The story is set around the two main characters Sanjay and Ali.They meet by chance after many years and have a conversation between them. Both Sanjay and Ali are married. However Sanjay has remarried and with his new wife they are applying to adopt a child. It is Sanjay’s second marriage. His first marriage ended in a divorce due to his wife’s wish to pursue her career and Sanjay’s wish to start a family, diversification of the family with the wife going out to work is a feature of modern families.
Sanjay and Ali are both second generation Indians.They were born and brought up in the United Kingdom. Both Sanjay and Ali went to the same school and were good friends from college.
Ali has been married to his wife for several years. He has a son who was on holiday with his wife. Ali originates from a traditional Muslim family. He lives in an extended family with his parents at the same residence. Islamic traditions in an extended family have a greater affect on the continuation of marriages. In an extended family there is a lot of support from relatives for Ali’s wife. If there are any disputes they can be resolved by other family members. The extended family system is very different to the nuclear and single family systems. Ali’s wife would not be able to completely follow feminist ideology due to clashes with Islamic ideology. Muslim women believe that the individual goals and interests of women should match the welfare of the larger family group and its members. Islamic ideology differentiates between men’s and women’s roles and their responsibilities.
Feminists have campaigned for a change in women’s rights in all areas of life. Women feel the nuclear family is a source of injustice for women due to the restricting roles women have in these families.
A feminist would be opposed to Islamic ideology as Islam allows a division of labour along the lines of sex, if it is perceived to be beneficial to all members of the society. Feminist perceive Islamic ideology as discriminatory.
Sanjay’s situation was different to Ali’s as he doesn’t follow traditional Islamic ideology and lives in a nuclear family. His outlook in his first marriage was contrary to a feminist’s outlook on the role of women in his family. Most people of Sanjay’s and Ali’s generation have grown up with equality for women taken for granted. This is due to the feminist movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Many laws were changed around this time to give women equal pay and rights in many areas of life.
Hanif Kureishi in his writings particularly in the Buddha of Suburbia tries to create images of Asian families. He states that there are many types of Asian families. These families consist of different religions, cultures and migratory patterns. This story shows two different types of Asian families. The popular notion of Asian as having an authoritarian father’s, an unhappy arranged marriage, and the Asian woman as submissive victim of the family itself is not true.
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