ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on women of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin in the US diaspora to examine how religious identities unfold within multi-layered transnational structures that range from political histories and events to active webs of family and community relationships that stretch across the diaspora. Our analysis draws on focus groups and interviews with highly educated Hindu and Muslim women in the US. For these women, approaches to religion were marked by multiple points of tension and negotiation, including the work of situating oneself within the intersecting power structures of the diaspora and country of origin, including a transnational sphere that is increasingly crafted through the reach of social media. These women's narratives show they are minorities in the US, and part of majorities in countries of origin, but, sometimes, outsiders to the local politics of religions. Focusing on these women allows us to reflect on the ways in which histories and contemporary events shape contemporary South Asia far beyond its geographic location.

摘要

本文重点研究美国散居在印度，孟加拉和巴基斯坦的妇女，以研究宗教身份如何在多层跨国结构中展开，这些结构从政治历史和事件到遍布侨民的活跃的家庭和社区关系网。我们的分析基于焦点小组和对美国受过高等教育的印度教和穆斯林妇女的采访。对于这些妇女，宗教方法的特点是多方面的紧张和谈判，包括将自己置于侨民和原籍国相交的权力结构之内的工作，包括通过社交媒体的介入日益形成的跨国领域。这些妇女的叙述表明，她们在美国是少数群体，在原籍国是多数群体的一部分，但是，有时，当地宗教的局外人。关注这些女性，使我们能够反思历史和当代事件对当代南亚的影响，而这些南亚远远超出了其地理位置。