Muslim Womens Experience on Wearing Hijaab in British Society - Dissertation Example

?Qualitative Study on Muslim Women’s Experience on Wearing Hijaab in British Society: A Psychosocial Dissertation Proposal Study Background There area variety of religious sects that exist, where each guides how their followers conduct themselves both in public and private arenas. Some go as far as altering physical appearance in accordance to dictates of their spiritual beliefs. The headscarf, or hijaab in Islamic religion, is highly encouraged in Muslim women, where such action serves as public statement of their faith: “as means of getting into paradise...feel honoured and dignified...(as well as) feel protected, secure and obedient” (Bigger, 2006, no pag.). As such, hijaab is the definitive mark that women had been true to their sworn religion. Yet, there is also a sociopsychological connotation with such belief, as they appeared to use hijaab as defensive means against interpersonal contact, commanding respect through implicit warning accompanying the attire, but are obligated to be obedient individual to their faith, and family as well. More than the respect and adherence to religious beliefs, Bullock (2002, p. 96) pointed out that modernized perception of hijaab promotes egalitarian stance, where women used hijaab to restrict delineation of social economic status through uniformity in attire. Thus, there is substantial moral, socioeconomic, and spiritual association with wearing hijaab in public. The various functions behind wearing of hijaab are both strong and admirable, yet not all can understand such sentiments, especially in traditional European area, as in Great Britain. With such wide gaps in psychological and cultural awareness on what drives Muslim women to wear hijaab, narrow European perspectives may lead to several reactions, either positive or negative. Although multiculturalism in Great Britain enabled them to accept groups of distinctive religious-based attitudes and behaviors, discrimination and stigma with problems of physical difference, through wearing of hijaab, impact Muslim women more negatively, generating feelings and responses that are nonconstructive in context. Study Objectives and Significance The proposed study is centered on experiential effect of British responses, probably borne out of religious ignorance and lack of sensitivity to different spiritual beliefs. As such, this aims in looking at actual experiences of women practicing Islam by wearing hijaab, especially on public receptions they are receiving in academic or work settings, and their counteracting actions during encounters with condemning attitudes and environmental responses. The study is psychosocially significant for it delves on mental cognition and behavior of Muslim women. As the series of positive and negative events in subjects’ lives are placed in focal study, it may reveal defensive reactions they adapted, uncovering inner thoughts, opinions and feelings regarding their understanding and acceptance of their social interaction in a place of modern religious outlooks. By this, citizens, especially in Great Britain, will become more conscious and understanding of potential lapses in social values and attitudes, as some reserve religious acceptance of religious expression, and where improved awareness may give more opportunities to Muslim women to live in European places free of social discrimination and subsequent psychological rejection. Literature Review The British society had been said to be more accepting with the donning of hijaab by Muslim women, where British media implored against racist treatment of Muslim women in account of current conflicts between the West and violent Islam fanatics (Eyben & Moncrieffe, 2007, p. 116). These women are allowed to wear the veil during work, giving them freedom and public space (Mezey, 2004, p. 34). Great Britain, then, holds a multicultural stance in favor of various race and religions. Yet, the inclusion of United Kingdom in the multi-setting study by Bigger (2006, no pag.) negates this, as it showed psychological struggles by women in universities. In his experiental study, the conducted interviews demonstrated that Muslim women are treated with contempt and prejudice, and several of them had been verbally abused and assaulted in reference to American bombings. Hijaab, then, had been associated with stereotyped view that Muslims are a violent group, bent on destroying lives in their wake. In another qualitative study conducted in various areas in Great Britain, specifically in London, Muslim women had been surveyed and interviewed for their experiences while living in such regions. A Muslim woman from East London could not ride a bus for she is either looked at with hostile scrutiny or some buses would not stop upon seeing her with hijaab. Even work environments can be socially isolating, with more lost work opportunities when one appears with hijaab during job interviews, despite excellent qualifications. A Muslim woman from Loughborough explained that it had been easy to get a job when she had not donned her hijab, but after practicing her faith through hijaab, no employer would accept her, and she became socially isolated as other people avoid associating with her (Ameili & Merali, 2006, pp. 56-58). Another subject from Britain had been advised that to get bigger work contracts, her hijaab should never be worn in public. Others from London, as indicated in research interviews, are received more positively, where they were respected for the headscarf they wear; others tend to be more polite and some treated Muslim women with chaste and trusted their honesty and religious integrity. The outcomes of the study, then, portrayed negative and positive sides Muslim women wearing hijaab had been going through while in Great Britain. The discussed study, then, had focused more on daily experiences of Muslim women in Great Britain and its London regions. Interestingly, their experiential responses and subsequent actions to counteract the negative feedback had not been put into perspective. In deference, this paper will expound on social experiences that Muslim women had undergone, and their own defense reactions and adaptive mechanisms to such events. Great Britain, especially within East London districts, seemed an ideal place to conduct the study, as the country professed an acceptance to different religious concepts; yet, individual reactions appear to exhibit otherwise. The study will be different, for an in-depth psychological survey on Muslim women who wear hijaab will be performed, where their thoughts and opinions will be collected to identify common patterns these women keep in daily existence. Other than these, the study will delve on defense system these women may have adapted and the social and mental means utilized to adjust in British society. Research Methodology Study Locale. The research study will be conducted in Great Britain, specifically in South East of London. This area is said to be more receptive of Muslim women wearing hijaab, but further studies will prove the extent of acceptance offered. Population Sample. The study population will consist of 10 minimum samples, where samples include Muslim women who are constantly wearing their hijaab during public interaction, and are living within the designated locale. At this, females who are already working or are still in universities are preferable, with ages not below 18 years old. Confidentiality will be maintained on the whole duration of the study, where volunteer samples can withdraw from the study contract without legal implications. Study Design. The paper will be qualitative in study, where experiences of Muslim women can be generated in full through the phenomenological research design. According to Pinar, et al. (1995, p. 407), the design is all about lived experience, where deeper scrutiny on phenomenon reveals the essence of encountered layers in perceptions and attitudes. The phenomenon in the paper refers to experiences of Muslim women subjected to hostilities and social ostracism. Study Instrument. To collect a series of lived experiences, data will be gathered through utilized tools, such as structured one-on-one and group interview sessions and recording these through audio equipments, and intensive documentation of observed events during personal association and diary scrutiny that these women are advised to keep (Merriam, 2009, p. 85). As data are collated, iterative type of interpretative analysis will be utilized, where emergent patterns in collected data materials are rendered in convergent and divergent focus of all research cases (Smith, Flowers, & Larkins, 2009, p. 79). The analysis is multidimensional, where phenomenon is investigated at different angles to arrive at psychosocial concepts that best describe the experience and (implicit and explicit) response of Muslim women wearing hijaab. References Ameili, S.R. & Merali, A., 2006. Hijab, meaning, identity, otherization and politics: British Muslim women. England: Impeks Publishing. Bigger, S., 2006. Muslim women’s views on dress code and the hijaab: some issues for education. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 27 (2), pp. 210-226. Bullock, K., 2002. Rethinking Muslim women and the veil: challenging historical & modern stereotypes. United Kingdom: Biddles Limited. Childs, F., 2007. A lesson in common sense; Femail: From this week, schools can ban religious dress. About time, says one teacher on the front line. The Daily Mail, March 22, p. 65. Eyben, R. & Moncrieffe, J. eds. 2007. The power of labelling: how people are categorized and why it matters. United Kingdom: Earthscan. Merriam, S.B., 2009. Qualitative research: a guide to design and implementation. United States of America: John Wiley and Sons. Mezey, A., 2004. Unveiling French society. Bachelor. Malmo Universtiy, [Online] Available at: http://dspace.mah.se/bitstream/handle/2043/6360/Unveiling%20French%20Society.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 7 April 2011]. Pinar, W., et al., 1995. Understanding curriculum: an introduction to the study of historical and contemporary curriculum discourses. United States of America: Peter Lang Publishing. Smith, J.A., Flowers, P. & Larkins, M., 2009. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research. Great Britain: MPG Books Group. Windle, J., 2004. Schooling, symbolism and social power: The hijab in Republican France. The Australian Educational Researcher, 31 (1), pp. 95-112. Read More