Guftagu #6: Dating within South Asian communities

“A family friend of mine once said “But Inayah, you shouldn’t forget the fact that you’re Pakistani then and that there’s a way of doing things”. Perhaps, what I thought was normal to conduct myself in the dating atmosphere was then thus offending my Pakistani-ness and that I need to retain that." –Inayah Inam

This week, we spoke to Angbeen Abbas and Inayah Inam, two penultimate year Pakistani students at the LSE, about dating norms within South Asia and the experience of navigating love and relationships as a young South Asian woman. We touched upon the pressures of societal stigma, internalized shame and parents’ conflicting attitudes that young women face as they set out to explore love. This episode was produced and presented by Viniyya Ikram Rao.