Judging by Appearances: Perceived Discrimination among South Asian Muslim Women in the US and the UAE

Introduction Discrimination occurs when members of a socially defined group are treated differently or excluded from activities because of their group membership. Allport (1954) described a range of discriminatory practices, from antilocution, avoidance, and rejection to physical harassment and even genocide. Discrimination may be intentional or unintentional, personal or institutional; however, the perception of discrimination varies depending on the observer. Individuals who are a part of stigmatized group may utilize strategies, such as anticipating and preparing for discrimination, to lessen the sting of social disadvantage (Major, Keiser, O'Brian and McCoy, 2007). Within the South Asian and Muslim communities in the United States, reports of discrimination increased as a result of 9/11. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received almost 500 complaints of religious discrimination from September 11, 2001 to May 7, 2002, many of which were related to the Islamic headscarf (Moore, 2007). Over 700 incidents of violence occurred against Arabs or Muslims or those perceived to be Arab or Muslim in the first nine weeks following 9/11. Between September 11, 2001 and October 11, 2002, over 80 Muslims or Arab Americans were illegally removed from airplanes (Ibish, 2003 as cited in Awad, 2010). Additionally, a 2003 survey evaluating anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti-South Asian sentiment conducted by the New York City Commission on Human Rights found that 69 percent of respondents reported incidents of perceived discrimination, including workplace discrimination, ethnic and religious insults, and physical harassment. Survey respondents were 47% Arab, 39% South Asian, and 81% Muslim. Complaints of religious discrimination are often centered on the use of Islamic attire (or ethnic attire that is presumed to be Islamic) in Western public spaces where public and private identities become key players in the debate between secularism and religious practice (Gole, 2003; Ruby, 2006; Droogsma, 2007). According to a recent study (Al Atom, 2014), Islamophobic attitudes in Western countries are actually on the rise, and the most common reason for inciting these attitudes is centered on factors such as Islamic dress that visually distinguishes Muslims from non-Muslims. The current study explores the perceptions of discrimination among South Asian Muslim women in the United States (US) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an emphasis on the influence of hijab (the Islamic headscarf) on perceived discrimination. Globalization is encouraging a more holistic and differentiated view of social and psychological constructs (Pasha-Zaidi & Lutz, 2012) such as perceived discrimination. From an international psychology perspective, individuals representing culturally similar backgrounds living in mainstream contexts that do not necessarily reflect those cultural elements can provide a unique voice on the applicability and transferability of many Western paradigms that continue to permeate psychological research. The current study, therefore, sought to identify some of the areas where South Asian Muslim women may perceive discrimination. As hijab was the central aspect of the study, the US and the UAE were chosen as mainstream contexts due to their positioning as Muslim minority and Muslim majority states. Although aspects related to the practice of hijab, such as modest conduct and respectful interaction between males and females is obligatory for both Muslim men and Muslim women, the onus for maintaining these norms is generally placed on the shoulders of Muslim women. The wearing of the headscarf is encouraged within the Muslim community not only as a reminder to limit interaction between the sexes in the public sphere, but as a religious obligation, a cultural representation to differentiate Muslim values from Western ones, and often as a political symbol to defy Western imperialistic notions of the ideal woman (Ruby, 2006; Read & Bartowski, 2000). …