Vinathe Sharma-Brymer

In this paper we provide a migrant perspective on how women and men from a different culture perceive wellness while settling down in a new country. We are discussing the texts of research interviews with Indian migrant women and men that illuminate their perception of lifestyle enhancement in their adopted country Australia. Our purpose is to show how sociocultural factors influence the migrants‟ perspective of lifestyle enhancement, and to what extent they direct their wellness. Personal development, both in theory and practice, is a huge concept in Australia. Concerted efforts are made towards increasing public awareness about health literacy leading to a better understanding and practice of wellness. However, as research studies have pointed out, lifestyle enhancement leading to holistic wellness is not void of socio-cultural factors. The number of women and men migrating to Australia from India has increased greatly in the present decade. As migrants their participation in developing Australian society is significant. So what is their socio-cultural perception of wellness including nutrition and physical exercises as active citizens? How do young Indian migrants participate in lifestyle enhancement programmes? As parents what are their sociocultural beliefs, attitudes, practices and values, and how do they influence their children‟s participation in personal development and PE progammes? To what extent gender differences exist in such participation levels? What is the space available in State school curriculum to learn from the migrants‟ cultures towards enhancing lifestyles including nutrition and personal development?The findings may sensitise Australian researchers, academics, school teachers and practitioners of wellness therapies. Long term research studies may inform the governments and HPE practitioners of the changes occurring in such values, beliefs and practices as they incorporate nutrition and lifestyles of Australian society.

How do women with higher education view their own experiences of being educated in their everyday life? How do they understand and address gender relations as educated women? What is their analysis of gender and social transformation in the contemporary Indian society? This paper examines these questions in the light of educated women’s experiences. Stories and narratives of five women living in urban Bangalore in Southern India provide the ground to inquire into issues of gender and social transformation. This paper argues that theoretical perspectives supporting transformation through education do not effectively address the everyday experiences of women living in traditional societies such as India, which are rooted in tradition, patriarchy, power and control. The women participants of this study, which was conducted for a doctoral thesis, illuminate their negotiations within private and public domains of life with tensions, conflicts and turning points. They narrate the internalised goals of their education, achievements through education and their position of remaining traditional women, a constant in a rapidly changing society. They provide valuable insights regarding position and power in gender relations. Analysing their insights and recommendations about what needs to be done with education for future generation of girls in terms of social transformation, the author identifies the gaps within ability, action and space for change. The author proposes a new theoretical construct called Actionable Space, which underlines women’s dilemma and also the available space to take action for change in their life circumstances.