F-B-F.org -

“I did the rewiring and the DIY because our dad taught us all that.” Eventually her husband gave in But there have been years of culture clash. Nusreen says her daughter Mehreen, 12, will never be forced into an arranged marriage in the old country.Nusreen believes greater integration would be good for Burnley but will resist any assault, following the Cantle Report, on religious schools Mehreen attends an Islamic girls’ school. “We believe in Islam and I want Mehreen to know more about it than I do,” she says “I also think boys are a distraction. My sons go to a Christian school, but boys can always get some kind of work even if it’s driving a taxi Girls need more.

I want my daughter educated enough to be a doctor if that is what she wants.”Inner-cultural accommodation is as delicate for the women as the wider cultural integration being urged on Burnley. Neither woman completely covers up unless they’re in Pakistan But faces have to be covered for newspaper photographs. The sisters say elderly relatives would be angry to see their faces in the paper And the sisters do not want to offend.. Sher Ali Miah, secretary of the Bangladeshi Welfare Association

Sher Ali Miah, secretary of the Bangladeshi Welfare Association”If an oath of allegiance [suggested in Cantle Report] is required of me it should be required of every citizen. I have no idea what David Blunkett means by adhering to ‘British norms’. I am disappointed that the Cantle Report, and the local Burnley report into the race riots (also out last week), did not make stronger recommendations concerning poverty as a cause. Do they think people want to live 10 and 15 to a two-bedroom terrace in Stoneyholme?”Alkas Mia, 10, son of Sher Ali Miah”There are no white boys in my primary school.

I have never had a white mate but I am not bothered because Asian boys stick together The only time I leave Stoneyholme is to go on holiday My dad has white friends who come to the house My mum does not have white friends. My mum does not go out a lot because when a Muslim woman marries she does not go out on her own.”Afzal Khan, 24, unemployed graduate”Burnley is racist You just have to look at how few Asians go to the football. Stoneyholme may be a poor area but my younger sister has been offered an interview at Cambridge and my older brothers went to Cambridge and Imperial College I studied in Sheffield. I have always had some white friends – I went to a mixed-race, co-ed school – but I met friends of every background at university.”Aisha Kauser, 24, assistant in Dilpasand”I think Burnley is quite racist It is hard for Asians to get a job in the town centre.