10 July 2014

Hijabs: University's Last Taboo? Muslim Students On Stereotyping And Discrimination

.... As one 20-year-old sociology student at Bristol University explained, wearing the hijab made her stick out. "People do get cautious when they approach me for the first time," she said.

Several of the students said they experience discrimination due to wearing the hijab, as some of their peers automatically assume the head scarf is synonymous with extreme right-wing views. This results in those students feeling they have to prove they do not fit into the "stereotypical Muslim woman" category.

One student told HuffPost UK the need to constantly reaffirm their distance from such views "originates from people’s idea that our faith is unreasonable, violent or just plain different from the norm".

She added: "So the fact that I cover my head re-establishes their particular view about Islam and about me as a person."

[A COMMENT] Well, of course it makes you "stick out" in a secular, gender-equal culture. Thus it is contrary to the teachings of the Qoran: it is immodest to call attention to yourself in this way. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more