Living double lives : mobility, integration and adaptation among Sindhi women living in Malta

Abstract

This dissertation is a sociological inquiry about transnationality. It gives a deep insight of the consequences and changes that mobility brings about to Sindhi women who left their home country in order to follow their husband in a new land with a different culture. Eight in-depth interviews were conducted with Sindhi women for this study. These interviews cover a vast range of topics related to the life of these women. The aim of this study is to give space and voice to these women's feelings and reasoning in relation to the preparation, the transition and their adaptation to another culture. Findings show how Sindhi women were brought up and their socialization process in relation to the transition period. This phase is important to them as it affects their way of adapting themselves in their role as wives in a different culture, while at the same time maintaining their identity. The importance of this study is that although it focuses entirely on the perspective of Sindhi women in relation to the phenomenon of transnationality, it can also be applied to other communities.