Jan

13

The Hijab Difference

January 13, 2008 |

No doubt, there is a difference between a Muslim girl who wears a head scarf (hijab) and one who doesn’t. No, I don’t mean in religiosity or devotion or what not, because only God can determine that. I mean, in public perception. And for Muslim women in the United States, that difference in preception is now more clear after recent study conducted by HCD Research.

Participants were divided into two randomly assigned groups. Members of each group were asked to view one of two separate photos of an attractive young woman. Neither photo was identified in any way. Each sample was then asked identical questions about the woman, her age, perceived personality, activities, and how acceptable she might be as a neighbor.

One-third of participants indicated that they would rather have the woman with the traditional headwear live in another place, another city, and maybe out of the U.S., as opposed to living in their neighborhood. However, a clear majority of participants (89%) reported that the woman without the shawl would be welcome in their neighborhood.hijabstudy.jpg

The press release doesn’t do much justice to the study. A closer look at the actual results of each question asked of the participants reveals some interesting information.

A woman who wears hijab is perceived as older; more likely to be married (by 34%); more likely to be a devoted wife (by 25%) and good mother (by 12%); less likely to be a college graduate (by 10%); more likely to be wealthy (by 16%); more likely to be a stay at home mom (by 31%); less likely to be lively, have a sense of humor, or look on the bright side; less likely to be the life of the party (by 20%); more likely to stick to a tight circle of people (by 19%); more beautiful (by 11%); more likely to keep to herself (by 11%); and more strict (by 20%) and rigid (by 10%) than the same woman who did not wear the headscarf.

Most respondents guessed that the woman wearing the headscarf is Middle Eastern (78%) rather than American (18%) and Muslim (87%).

What the press release picked up on was how respondents reacted when asked if they wanted the hijab clad woman to live next to them, in their neighborhood, in another section of their town or city, in another town or city, or outside the US. Thirty percent (30%) of respondents were comfortable with the hijab wearing woman being their next door neighbor compared to 41% for the non-covered woman. Forty-eight (48%) percent wanted the woman without hijab to be in their neighborhood while only 32% wanted the hijab wearing woman to be in their neighborhood. Finally, 19% would’ve liked the woman wearing the hijab to be living outside the US while only 1% wished the same for the other woman.

I don’t find the results troubling. If one looks closely at the percentages, it is usually a minority of respondents who view the woman with the hijab in a negative light. I believe that if this study was conducted before 9/11, the negative perception of women in hijab would have been higher. Yes, higher. Many women Muslim women both wearing hijab and those not wearing it have become more visible in the public eye, and through the media. I think that before 9/11, Muslim women were viewed with more suspicion and general ambiguity than today. Since most respondents did not think that the woman without hijab is Muslim, is it safe to assume that the above perceptions can be attributed to Muslim women in general, and not just those who wear the head scarf? I think we could get a more accurate answer to this question if the same study was done but both women were identified as Muslim from the beginning.

I hope I didn’t misrepresent the report in my summary, as the percentages sometimes don’t add up because more than one answer is applicable in some questions. You can view the full report here for clarification.


Comments

4 Comments so far

  1. falasteenyia on January 17, 2008 3:57 pm

    interesting post! hmm, well if this is the attitude of the american public towards muslim-american women in general i guess i will just have to do the exact opp. of what people expect. I’m already a college grad, and i like to think i have sense of humor…all i have to do now is compete for that ‘life of the party’ title (whilst staying sober- it can be done!) and then hopefully i’ll start to break down stereotypes :) (join me?)

  2. Hijab Perception « Tariq Nelson on January 18, 2008 7:57 am

    […] Posted on January 18, 2008 by Tariq Nelson An interesting post by a sister here in the DC area on the public perception of those who wear the […]

  3. moi on January 18, 2008 10:26 pm

    falasteenyia– haha yeah, I agree. The thing is, you and I may have a sense of humor, but to the joe passing by on the street, I bet that’s not the first thing he’d perceive about us. I think I’ll just be myself and whoever feels like taking a step past their stereotypical perception will be graced by my sense of humor ;)

  4. Keepin’ it Halal » A Research on Hijab on January 25, 2008 4:22 pm

    […] sister writes on her blog A woman who wears hijab is perceived as older; more likely to be married (by 34%); more likely to […]

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