Muslim Pakistani moving away for university!?

Hello Lovelies,

So I really wanted to make this post as I'll be moving an hour away from home to live at university (although my parents are making me come back home every weekend!) Although I haven't yet entered university, I wanted to make this post for all the Muslim girls out there who feel scared about moving out to university in the UK.

I want to firstly say that there is a HUGE drinking/partying and generally promiscuity culture in the majority of non-Muslims moving to university. However we have to appreciate that they have different rules/ideas and a way of life and we have to accept that. Saying that, it doesn't mean that we have to take part in things that we ourselves are not comfortable doing according to our own principles, so striking that balance is important so we can integrate accordingly and have fun at university. A point I must add here is, that although it is important to talk to and integrate with people of different cultures, it is extremely useful and comforting to have a few friends of a similar background as they'll understand and can be your companions when everyone's out clubbing for instance.

So where do we go from here? I've decided to list some ideas of how to integrate and have fun without compromising our values:

1. Going to restaurants: If your moving to a densely Asian/Muslim populated area like London, then lucky you! There will be a variety of halal Indian, Chinese, Arabic etc food available to you, which both you and non-Muslim friends can enjoy in a halal environment. A problem however arises if you live in an area where there are fewer halal places, or your classmates may want to visit a place which doesn't sell halal food. But the problem can be solved with a small compromise, you can eat vegetarian that day e.g. vegetable pizza, and say that next time you go out, you get to chose where to eat. Your non-muslim friends can then go out to drink or whatever and you can go home and finish of some work, so it can be helpful on the academic side too!

2. Shisha Bars: Yes, yes I know, their not everyone's cup of tea. But shisha bars are usually halal environments as shisha is very much a middle eastern/south Asian thing. This means that halal food should be served like burgers etc, but please check before. Also the trend of shisha has really caught on in recent times throughout the UK and non-Muslims also enjoy smoking a good shisha pipe, so it might not take much convincing to get your friends down to one of these!

3.Shopping!: Which girl doesn't love a bit of retail therapy. Get a group of girls and hit up a big shopping centre like Bluewater , The Trafford Centre or Westfield's! Shop away, and if you don't fancy buying some clothes, buy some accessories or grab a pinkberry!

 

There are so many more ideas like bowling, or ice-skating. Use your imagination, and remember to never compromise on what you feel is wrong and remember to enjoy yourself! University will be a great time to make new friends, have a bit more freedom, and become independent. I wish everyone luck on their journey to university.

Much Love,

Bubblegum xxx

Marriage- 'the ideal' for us pakistani girls, the british view

Okay so I wanted to make a blog post on this because honestly marriage is such an important thing in Pakistani, South Asian and generally Muslim culture. This is because there is a hadith which states "When a man marries, he has fulfilled half of his religion.'' Marriage is essential in order to follow a life devoid of fornication, adultery and pre-marital sex which Islam prescribes.

 I'm going to talk about expectations, and this will have to be in a girl's perspective I'm afraid! Growing up and talking to Muslim friends made me realise that we are a bit far fetched at times. We want someone, tall, good job, well qualified, prays 5 times a day, no previous relationships, respects his family, etc etc.

Also the Bollywood influence has to be mentioned here! I mean those romantic love songs just make us yearn for a husband who chases us around fields and whisks us away to Paris for the weekend whilst singing our favourite love song to us in tune!. And all that, whilst never looking at another woman as long as he lives and praying 5 times a day. Do these men even exist and where are they hiding!

I'm not saying us girls should lower their expectations, not at all! What I do say is, life isn't a fairy-tale, as much as we'd love it to be! We should pray and hope that we do get as close as what we deem is out ideal but we're all human aren't we. Look inside ourselves and we can see our flaws, so how can our spouse be flawless?

And I'll end this piece here. Leave a comment whether you agree or disagree with all this.

Much Love xoxoxo.

First Post, an introduction!

Okay, so I am the author of this wonderful new blog. Welcome welcome! I'm sure you want to know a little bit about me and what you'll be expecting! Well, a bit of everything really, I might do topic based post, or reviews of products, or just discuss what I feel are affecting the daily lives of Muslim/Pakistani girls living in London and elsewhere.

So lets begin with the basics shall we. I shall inshallah, be starting a pharmacy course at university this September and if anyone needs or wants to know about my course etc, I shall do a blog post on it, just leave a comment! I absolutely adore makeup and dressing up, but on the other hand I am constantly immersed in the science I've been studying thus far in school and now at university level soon, and I absolutely love it. Reading and watching films, and spending time with friends and family are also things I really cherish.

I should be writing some more posts soon, so watch out!

Lots of love xoxo