The Impact Of South Asian Cultural Violence

This study explores the experiences and perspectives of first/second generation South Asian Canadian women on the representation of South Asian culture and violence against South Asian women. Specifically, this study looks at the myth of South Asian cultural violence, which views South Asian culture as inherently oppressive toward women and South Asian men as violent; and as a result, South Asian women are seen as victims of these men and their culture.

This study does not undermine violence against South Asian women, but challenges the ways in which violence against South Asian women gets talked about through the myth or the discourse of South Asian cultural violence. Both the state and (trans)national media play an important role in circulating this myth to further socio-political agendas. Centering the narratives of South Asian women in this study will show the ways in which they make meaning of the myth, as well as how they challenge and resist it. This study involves a focus group with two first/second generation South Asian Canadian women using arts-informed narrative methodology. Findings demonstrate that the discourse of South Asian cultural violence has had a significant impact on their relationship to themselves, other South Asians, and to the South Asian culture due to the ongoing encounter with stories of violence against South Asian women.