出国留学首选一诺留学

　　Britain Asian Muslim women

　　英国 亚裔穆斯林女性

　　All about taking part

　　全面参与

　　A hidden explanation for Britain’s surprising jobnumbers: Bangladeshi and Pakistani women arefinally surging into the labour market

　　对英国令人惊讶的就业数字的深层解读：孟加拉国和巴基斯坦的女性最终进入劳动力市场

　　In an upstairs room at the Jagonari women’s centre in eastLondon, six women in colourfulheadscarves grin as an instructor enunciates simple English phrases from a whiteboard. Thewomen are mostly new immigrants from Bangladesh, who are being taught English as part ofthe centre’s “positively integrated” programme. In other classes they will learn how to deal withdoctors, police officers and council officials, how to use public transport and how to claimbenefits. The idea is to help them find their way around British society—and eventually findjobs.

　　位于伦敦东区加各(Jagonari)妇女中心的一个楼上房间内，一个导师在白板前教单的英语词汇时6位带着彩色头巾的女性咧着嘴笑。这些女性主要是来自孟加拉国的新移民，她们学习英语是该中心“积极移民”的一部分。在其它课程中，她们将会学习如何与医生、警察、政府官员打交道，如何使用公共交通工具，如何申请救济金。这个计划是帮助她们如何适应英国社会—最终找到工作。

　　Britain’s 450,000 Bangladeshis and 1.1m Pakistanis, who began to arrive in large numbers inthe 1960s and 1970s, suffer from a huge penalty that is partly self-imposed. WhereasPakistani and Bangladeshi men have employment rates roughly comparable to black men, thewomen’s employment rate is around half that of other ethnic-minority women. Lack of asecond income is the main reason why more than half of Bangladeshi and Pakistani families livebelow the official poverty line, and why so many rely on welfare payments to top up theirincome. The broader cost to Britainof the economic and social marginalisation of so much of itsMuslim population is huge. Yet there are some encouraging signs of change.

　　英国的450,000孟加拉国人和110万的巴基斯坦人是在上世纪60、70年代大量涌入，他们遭受了巨大的遭难，部分是自身原因造成的。巴基斯坦、孟加拉国男性的就业率几乎和黑人一样，但女性的就业率差不多是其它少数民族的一半。缺少第二收入是一半以上的孟加拉国、巴基斯坦家庭生活在官方贫困下的主要原因，也是为什么如此多的家庭依赖社会福利增加救济金。穆斯林庞大的人口如此多，对经济和社会的边缘化，给英国造成了更大的成本。然而有一些鼓舞人心的现象改变。

　　A combination of traditional culture and modern prejudice keeps women out of work. Manystill feel that it is the husband’s role to provide for the family. Even if they want to work,Bangladeshi and Pakistani women are often expected to do a lot of cleaning, cooking and takingcare of children, which leaves little time for a job. Village habits die hard: married women stilltend to move in with their in-laws, who sometimes jealously restrict their freedom. Staff at theJagonari centre report encounters with women who are not allowed to learn to drive or even toleave home alone.