Sisterhood and Memories in Hyde Park, Leeds

Rifhat Malik and Laila Khan, both born in Leeds and friends who lived in Hyde Park, houses away from each other.

Both Rifhat and Laila’s families migrated to the UK for a better life.

In a discussion on early life in Leeds, Rifhat and Laila ponder over how their families used to travel to Bradford to store up on Halal meat. The community would look after each other and provide if someone would fall short. Playing outside, for most the day on the cobble streets, the community was predominantly non-Asian. When people would see Laila Khan’s mother wearing a Sari, they would be shocked, as Laila Khan’s family were Indian Muslim. ‘Being Muslim was associated with what you wore back then, as of course, we looked different’.

Rifhat Malik reminisces on the time her mother used to work for a knitting factory, with long hours and her father was a bus driver.

Laila Khan’s father completed his degree in Mechanical Engineering, but due to race issues, never succeeded in pursuing it as a career. Her father then went on to work for the bus company too and this where both Rifhat and Laila’s families are linked again.

‘How can we forget Ramadhan when we were kids!’ says Rifhat Malik. Ramadhan fasting was long as it was in the Summer days when they were younger. Laila Khan remembers that there was nothing to do during Ramadhan, as there was little knowledge in their school of ‘who a Muslim was’. When their families would have to contact back to their homes in India and Pakistan, Laila and Rifhat both say it was a risk as it was so expensive. To ring would have to be an emergency. The call would come through to what we now know as post offices and someone would then have to go and contact the family.

Rifhat Malik remembers when she received mail about her mother’s family deaths, including her mother’s (Rifhat’s grandma) and her mother’s sister (Rifhat’s aunte). Rifhat’s mother was the youngest sibling out of eleven and they could not afford to travel back to Pakistan, even upon eventually hearing of the deaths due to the expenses.

Laila reflects that the biggest blessing is that she still has the same friends she grew up with. Her father worked tirelessly for the community, though often this was not appreciated, he dedicated his time for the people around him and people who bump into Laila now still remember. Laila says, ‘Nobody can recreate that time, in those days everybody wanted to know each other and now there are so many of us’.

Photo: A day out for the families of Hyde park arranged by uncle Ali, Molvi Shuttari and friends.