Appreciative inquiry as a method of transforming identity and power in Pakistani women

This paper describes a three-year action research project that used Appreciative Inquiry to work with marginalised Pakistani women living in Sheffield. The research encountered many of the difficulties and dilemmas that have been previously identified in the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry. However it was also successful in bringing about a significant transformation in the ability of participants to develop critical thinking; enabling them to subvert and challenge the identities that had been constructed for them by sources of power within their community and culture. The paper describes the innovative application of Appreciative Inquiry whilst bringing a new theoretical perspective which responds to the need for Appreciative Inquiry to critically address issues of power as it plays out in the life of a community.