Norwegians of Pakistani descent

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norwegians of Pakistani descent
Total population
27,000 0.7% of the Norwegian population
Regions with significant populations
Oslo Bergen
Languages
Norwegian Urdu Languages of Pakistan
Religions
Islam Others
Related ethnic groups
Overseas Pakistani

Approximately 27,000 Norwegians are of Pakistani descent making Pakistanis one of Norway's largest ethnic minorities and immigrant groups.

1 History in Norway
- 1.1 Integrating into Norwegian society
2 Media
3 Notable Pakistani Norwegians
4 See also
5 References

[edit] History in Norway

Most families came as guest workers during the 1970s. Norwegian-Pakistani settlements in Norway are found mainly in Oslo and Bergen. Following stricter immigration laws enforced in 1976 the immigration wave from Asia came to a halt. The main Pakistani immigration to Norway nowadays is family reunification. Most of the Pakistani Norwegian population are Norwegian citizens. However they sometimes meet obstacles when visiting other countries which ethnic Norwegians do not face in spite of their Norwegian passport.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Integrating into Norwegian society

Due to the substantial number of immigrants from Pakistan, Pakistani immigrants (and their children) have been able to preserve much of their Pakistani cultural heritage. Most children of Pakistani immigrants are fluent in at least one Pakistani language (normally Punjabi or Urdu) alongside a native fluency in Norwegian. However children of Pakistani immigrants sometimes struggle when trying to be loyal to both their family's traditional Islamic culture and the one of liberal Scandinavia. Arranged marriages and sexual orientation among the Pakistani Norwegians are frequently debated in the Norwegian media. The Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) has in recent years enforced restrictions on family reunification laws, arranged marriages and more to ensure that every Norwegian regardless of their ethnic origin is guaranteed the same right to make their own decisions and freedom regarding their personal life. The Norwegian embassy in Pakistan has in recent years worked on disappearances of Norwegian citizens (often forced marriages and alleged "honour murders"). It is still rare and generally not accepted among the Norwegian-Pakistani community that children of Pakistani immigrants in Norway marry non-Muslims.

[edit] Media

In 2005, Izzat (a Norwegian film directed by Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen) is a story which follows Wasim and his youth gang years in the 1980s to his young adult years in the 1990s. The film is set in Oslo and deals with the double standards in a tough Pakistani gang environment. It relates directly to the difficulty of being raised as a Muslim immigrant in western countries. The word Izzat means honour in Urdu. A number of Pakistani Norwegians were featured in this film, and a small portion was filmed in Lahore, Pakistan.