Chapter 1: Discrimination against Arab and Muslim Women

Introduction

Although the experiences of Arab and Muslim women are sometimes overlooked, the widespread issue of discrimination requires our attention. In recent years, public acts of discrimination against Middle Eastern women and immigrants have become increasingly concerning. These acts contribute to a culture of fear and anxiety in addition to violating these people's human rights. These women are targeted by a variety of unfair treatment that worsen their status and violate their human rights, from dress codes to sexism and monitoring. In this piece, I'll examine the discrimination faced by Arab and Muslim women, as well as how they respond to it and how it affects their daily lives. The experiences of Middle Eastern women / immigrants in the US show many examples of public acts of discrimination. This is important because it divides our society and repeats acts of discrimination causing people to feel excluded from US society. It is time to raise awareness of this crucial problem and strive toward a more fair and just society for all.

“Debates over the interpretation of secularism in the affair of the headscarf can tend to overlook these constitutional and legislative guarantees of freedom of conscience and freedom of religious expression.”

The issue lies with one's appearance

One of the most common forms of discrimination against Arab and Muslim women is through restrictions on their dress and appearance. While doing research, I came across the "headscarf problem" in France that evolved into one of the most intriguing recent examples of a conflict between secular and religious ideals. It also involves examples of students going against the law for wearing something religious. Three Muslim schoolgirls from the northern French town of Creil were expelled after they refused to take off the Islamic headscarves they had worn to class. He writes, “In 2004, the legal regime governing the wearing of the headscarf changed significantly when the French Parliament enacted legislation formally prohibiting the wearing of any religious signs in public schools.” The significance of this quotation demonstrates how the legal system must deal with religion and how it is forbidden to wear any religious symbols in a public school. The headscarf was mentioned as posing a threat not only in the European region but also in Australia. For that reason, according to the article “In November 2002, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, Fred Nile, called for a ban on Muslim women wearing the chador (which consists of the headscarf and a long cloak covering the body) in public places in Australia for fear that they might be concealing weapons beneath their clothing.” It demonstrates how even the legislative council has prohibited women from wearing the chador because it makes people think they might be carrying weapons. It's absurd how low they have to go to humiliate these women. Asma Afsaruddin, a religious scholar, writes that "the case of the headscarf in France is not just about the scarf itself; it is about larger questions of identity, belonging, and the place of religion in a secular society." In the US, where disagreements over secularism and religious expression remain, this view is important. The United States must work to strike a balance that respects both individual religious expression and secularism as a democracy that appreciates religious freedom. The controversy surrounding the Islamic headscarf in France serves as a reminder of how difficult the issue of religious freedom in secular societies is. This topic is relevant to the United States as both nations are democracies that cherish religious freedom and have struggled to strike a balance between secularism and religious expression.

Discrimination of appearance has not just been in France but also in the United States, especially in colleges. "Not Too 'College-Like,' Not Too Normal: American Muslim Undergraduate Women's Gendered Discourses," by Amani Ibrahim and Amina Zarrugh explores the experiences of American Muslim women on college campuses. Ibrahim and Zarrugh American Muslim women are often perceived as outsiders in both Muslim and American communities. When a student stated “Undergraduate Muslim women encountered in the dominant majority gaza a solid conviction about Muslim women's underdeveloped personhood and about their “Muslimness” rather than “Americanness” in an exclusive binary.” Fitting both American and Muslim standards at the same time is difficult. They have to deal with a complicated combination of expectations and demands from both their families and their larger communities, as well as stereotypes and discrimination based on their gender, religion, and ethnicity. Another student claims “Many Muslim women ‘pass’ as ‘normal’ by remaining in shadowy liminality, rather than stimulating behavior identical to the majority.” This should not even be discussed as to what is too normal or not. The struggles encountered by marginalized communities in the US are highlighted by the experiences of American Muslim women, which are relevant to American democracy.

Progress is in chains due to legal barriers

However, there have also been concerns about hatred against Muslim Americans in the United States, especially in the months since the September 11th terrorist attacks and the election of Donald Trump. Fears of discrimination and Islamophobia among Muslim Americans have been raised by Trump's speech and policies, such as the travel ban that affects several countries with a majority of Muslims. Moustafa Bayoumi and Alex Lubin say in their article "Being Muslim in the Trump Era," explore the views of Muslims living in the United States today. The authors wrote that “One big change in American culture over the last decade and a half has been the various threats that are associated with Muslim in the United States.” I have seen on the news that there have been threats against Muslims for many stereotypes and discrimination. People think of Muslim of being scary for their popular dressing and actions. The authors point out the effects of both the desired Muslim ban, which would have prevented all Muslims from entering the United States, and the travel restriction set up by the Trump team, which restricted immigration from many countries with a majority of Muslims. This policy, according to Bayoumi and Lubin, "was intended to create a culture of fear and suspicion towards Muslims, and to make it clear that Muslims are not welcome in America." Being a Muslim in the Trump era has highlighted the ongoing battle in America to strike a balance between safety concerns and individual freedoms and rights. As Bayoumi and Lubin note, "the Muslim American experience is not unique, but reflects a larger challenge for American democracy - how to balance national security concerns with the preservation of individual liberties and human rights." America needs to keep trying to strike a balance between protecting its people and honoring its important beliefs.

Racial profiling along with tracking are more forms of discrimination against Arab and Muslim women. Law enforcement and government organizations frequently examine Arab and Muslim women more, which causes anxiety and distrust in their communities. Mir‐Hosseini, Ziba "Muslim Women’s Quest for Equality: Between Islamic Law and Feminism" examines the conflicts between feminism and Islamic law as they relate to gender equality concerns. Since she observes, “Rather, the state’s ideological use of the sharia and its penetration into the private lives of individuals have brought home the urgent need to separate religion from the state.” The fact that this comment discusses how people must keep their religious views private from the general public and how that relates to the headscarf case makes it similar to my other sources. Mir-Hosseini points out that strict conceptions of Islamic law have restricted women's rights in many nations with a majority of Muslims. These measures often place restrictions on women's participation in politics, jobs, educational opportunities and also lead to unlawful acts like forced marriages. She elaborates that “In October 1980, when I first attended the Tehran branches of the new family courts, now presided over by Islamic Judges, women who came to court were astonished to learn that their husbands could now divorce them without first securing their consent.” She says that while these tensions are real and serious, Muslim women take an active role in seeking methods that combine these two perspectives and are striving towards achieving more gender equality within their communities. In fact, the United States has its own history of struggles for gender equality, from the women's suffrage movement to the ongoing fight for equal pay and reproductive rights. The struggles faced by Muslim women in their fight for equality can serve as a reminder that there are still many battles to overcome in the fight for gender equality.

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Arabs and Muslims living in the United States have come under considerable attention from the media and stereotyping. Evelyn Alsultany paper, "Arabs and Muslims in the Media after 9/11: Representational Strategies for a ‘Post Race’ Era," examines this issue. Race is no longer seen to be a prominent influence in social or political life in this era, but racism and prejudice still exist in sneaky and harmful ways. As I was reading this quote, it struck me that “Representations of Arab and Muslim identities in contexts that have nothing to do with terrorism remain strikingly unusual in American commercial media.” These representations not only perpetuate harmful stereotypes but also contribute to a climate of fear and suspicion towards Arabs and Muslims in the United States. Even as it says in tv shows how the reality muslims faced because she commented “In the episode of the Practice, the government detains an innocent Arab American without due process or explanation and an attorney steps in to defend his rights.” Alsultany believes that the Arab and Muslim communities must participate in "representational activism" to fight these stereotypes. This includes challenging how Arabs and Muslims are portrayed in the media and coming up with alternate stories that reflect the wealth and variety of these cultures.

Conclusion

Furthermore, the media frequently supports these prejudices, harming Arab and Muslim women and creating a climate of hatred. The lack of proper legal protections for religious liberty leaves women open to discrimination in their jobs, in institutions of higher learning, and in public settings. The interaction of gender and religion, which adds to the unique hardships of Arab and Muslim women in American society, lies at the root of this problem. Discrimination against these women is not just a matter of religious freedom, but also a matter of gender inequality and social prejudice. The variety of American society, especially its Muslim and Arab communities, must be acknowledged and respected. As a result, we must promote a culture of acceptance and diversity. We cannot build a society that acknowledges and defends the humanity and dignity of every individual, regardless of their religion or culture, without working together. We must continue to pay attention to the stories of Arab and Muslim women as we advance and raise their voices in our society. We can build a just, welcoming, and fair world for all through collective action and unity.

Works Cited:

11 religious freedom in a secular society: The case of the ... - JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.20851/j.ctt1t3051j.16

Bayoumi, M., & Lubin, A. (2017). Being Muslim in the Trump Era. Middle East Report, 283, 23–24. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45198538

Mir‐Hosseini, Z. (2006). Muslim Women’s Quest for Equality: Between Islamic Law and Feminism. Critical Inquiry, 32(4), 629–645. https://doi.org/10.1086/508085

Mir, S. (2009). Not Too “College-Like,” Not Too Normal: American Muslim Undergraduate Women’s Gendered Discourses. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 40(3), 237–256. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25602226

Alsultany, E. (2013). Arabs and Muslims in the Media after 9/11: Representational Strategies for a “Postrace” Era. American Quarterly, 65(1), 161–169. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41809552