At the Center of Their Lives: Indo Canadian Women, Their Families and Leisure

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine how important or central leisure was in the lives of women immigrants from India. Ten Indo Canadian women were interviewed about their lives in India and Canada, about their families and their work, and about aspects of their lives that provide satisfaction, fulfilment, relaxation and enjoyment. Rather than start with a pre-determined, western definition of leisure, the study was exploratory, and aimed at developing an understanding of leisure from the perspective of the participants. This qualitative study used participants' comments to develop an understanding of their lifestyle. A model was developed which illustrates the centrality of family and the lack of importance of private time and personal leisure. The study showed that private time, which is often associated with the opportunity for leisure was not viewed as something positive or desirable for the women in the study.

KEYWORDS:

• Women
• ethnicity
• family
• India
• leisure