Production and Operation Types of Identity Categories
Introduction
In the recent past, Muslims have increased their concerns about their significance in American society owing to their dissatisfaction with the racial treatment of President Donald Trump. The lives of Muslim women have been affected in relation to employment opportunities, education, and their place in society. This group of individuals often face complexities as a result of conflicts related to ethnic and racial diversity within the American community, and the prevailing patriarchal norms. These norms coupled with the experiences and perceptions of American Muslim will form the basis of this task in the discussion of Muslim women in American society. In order to understand the struggles of Islamic women, this task will adopt an intersectional perspective in order to draw thoughts to different mannerisms, as explained by Crenshaw (1989), whereby, socially-created categories interrelate in overlapping systems to promote systemic oppression. The intersectionality of gender and racial categories within the Islamic religion has caused mainstream women to become identifiable and discriminated against, particularly in their struggle for power and identity.
Intersectionality of Race and Gender amongst Muslim Woman in Power and Identity
The struggles experienced by Muslim women often adopt an intersectional framework whereby the aspects of identity such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and age affect their lives in a mutually constitutive manner. This is to means that, Muslim women often face multiple aspects of identity concurrently such that the meanings attached to different facets of their identity are affected by each of the distinct aspects. Crenshaw (1989) explains that intersectionality is a framework that is often employed to conceptualize individuals or particular social problems as impacted by various disadvantages and discriminations. This means that Islamic women in society are often impacted by various sources of oppression that range from race, gender identity, religion, class, sexual orientation, and religion. This is because identity makers do not occur independently of one another, but rather each of the identity makers (such as women or black) inform each other in a manner than creates a complicated convergence of oppression to which the Muslim women are subjects.
The manner in which Muslim women get interpreted by other people in society is often affected by various notions of race or how race is often perceived or interpreted in society. For instance, women are not perceived in society as women, but rather, various racial-based interpretations affect how the individual is perceived as a woman. As such, the identity of Muslim women is privy to various notions attached to gender, race, and religion. Additionally, their raced-based experiences and gendered experiences as women are often shaped by sexuality, age, capability, and class. Thus, the struggle of Muslim-women in American society has been affected by the intersection of different aspects of identity that range from race, gender, class, age, and sexuality, among others.
It is easy for any person to attest to the struggles of Muslim women in American society which range from young girls in schools to old women in employment. Muslim women are often subjected to various challenges that are associated with religion, ethnicity, gender, and dimensions of individual identities, such as qualifications and family status as a result of Islamophobia and Islamic radicalism. They face discrimination as a result of the fear of Islamic religion and the growing aspect of unfriendliness that Muslims often encounter from society. It is this discrimination that impedes the aspirations and career of Muslim women in society. Being in a racist male-dominated society causes the women to continue to suffer discrimination and objectification as a result of security debates on the evolution of homegrown terrorism, where women have become the main participants. Most of them are often considered a threat to national security, an aspect that has caused them to face discrimination based on their gender as women and as a result of their identity as Muslims.
Historically, women have always had their place in society misplaced. Women have been discriminated against on the basis of gender and the fact that their ability to perform is diminished by virtual of their gender. The patriarchal society expects them to take the last position and assume their place in their homes rather than in the streets and professional places. Gender-based discrimination against women coupled with the aspect of religion as a Muslim woman increases their struggles for power and identity due to diminished ability caused by the condescending and patronizing allegations from their patriarchal families and oppressive nature of the society. This historical struggle of women in their search for power and identity has been heightened in the Muslim scenario since Islamic women are now required to worry about their identity and the manner in which they can protect their identity to achieve power in different realms of the society that range from employment, law, education, and the criminal justice system. While some may prefer to ignore the provisions of their religion (to wear hijab) to ease their struggle for power by reducing religion-based discrimination, such Muslim-women are likely to face unending wars from within their religion for denial of their identity as Muslims. Additionally, such women are also expected to worry about the harsh institutional prosecutorial tactics on the group with limited room for legal assistance on grounds of terrorism. This is an indication that the intersectionality of gender, class, and religion has affected the position of Muslim women in American society significantly since time immemorial.
The struggle of Islamic women for power and recognition in the United States is affected by the intersectionality that exists between race, gender, and religion. During the 1920s, white-women had the opportunity to get their voting rights and employment rights, an aspect that saw them acquire jobs in different facets of the economy (Furness, 2012). However, this privilege has been limited to non-white women in their search for power and identity in different facets including education, marriages, and employment opportunities. As a result, non-white women including the Asians, Blacks, Indians, and Latinos have had diminished ability to pave their way through the doors of power due to racial-based discrimination. However, while this is considered an issue of concern to non-white women, Islamic non-white women face greater challenges owing to the virtual race, gender, and religion. The discrimination on non-white women coupled with the Muslim religion causes women in Islamic to face complexities in the society in their search for power and identity first as women, and secondly as Muslim-women due to denial of their rights on basis of religion and gender.
Muslim women are expected to wear the hijab as a sign of identification with their religion. They are taught the importance of the Hijab in their identity construction as an Islamic woman and the emotional support as a symbol of identity with the Islamic religion (Bécares & Priest, 2015). As a result, most of these women face identity-based discrimination owing to the fact that their identity is showcased through their hijab. Unlike other women who are discriminated against on the basis of gender, the identification of Muslim women with religion causes them to face problems that are associated with their identity with their religion. Irrespective of their ethnicity or skin color, the headscarf often serves as a crucial mark of women as enemies to institutional progress since they are viewed as forever foreign and presumptively disloyal. Muslim women are further objectified by the male Muslims, who are overly patriarchal and believe that the women lack a respected position in society which increases the physical and polemic attacks on the victims. Such men tend to ignore the fact that Muslim women bear the societal distrust in relation to terrorism, all of which contribute to the intersectional conflict that exists between the Muslim-women identity and their struggle for power.
This intersectionality is evidenced in social places in that, the women hijab is often discriminated against on basis that religious minority group is after achieving religious accommodation in the society. The Hijab is often considered a visible marker of the membership of women in the suspect group, an aspect that causes the label “Muslim” to be considered both a racial and religious identifier. The shift that occurs in the subjugation of the veil to terrorism often increases inherent discrimination and racism against the women in the religion. However, as explained by Aziz (2012) this aspect denies Muslim women the right to celebrate their religion through their identity due to the racial implication of terrorism associated with the clothing. The intersection between race and gender causes the growth of complexities around their struggle for power and identity in society. This is because their right to wear clothing is mostly related to disloyalty and terrorism. This intersection shows the increasing complexities of Islamic women in their struggle for power and identity as dignified women with similar abilities as the non-whites.
Muslim headscarf has shifted from one that causes gender subjugation to gender-based terrorism, an aspect that has increased their discrimination. The Hijab as an identity with the Islamic religion has caused women in this religion to face diminished employment opportunities as a result of the Islamophobia notion associated with the clothing. Although the United States is considered a society that promotes the financial liberation of women, most Islamic women are required to forego their right of religious practice in order to preserve their right to economic independence, among other associated benefits. The women do not stand any chance to celebrate their identity without being considered as victims of terrorism and enemies of institutional progress. As such, the choice to wear the hijab causes Muslim women to suffer tangible harm in their struggle for power and recognition. The costs of appreciating their right of worship through the headscarf have become extremely high, with their legal rights reducing significantly. As such, Muslim women in this society have thus become casualties of the 9/11 war and are thus seen as terrorists in their continued struggle for recognition in different facets of the economy. In schooling facilities, the religious freedom of women is under incessant attacks while most of them continue to become objectified in corporal and domestic ideological conflicts that tend to affect their lives and abilities.
In employment and recruitment, women in Islamic religion are likely to encounter discrimination than other women in the country who hail from accepted ethnic backgrounds. For instance, women who wear Hijab face more discrimination since they are easily identifiable during recruitment (Aziz, 2012). Such women face various challenges that are associated with the need to reconcile varying elements of their identity as Muslims. During recruitment, most of them are often questioned on their perspective of marriage and children in that Muslim women are assumed to have a higher likelihood of leaving their employment after getting married. Additionally, such women are often required to dress in a modest manner, particularly when they are in public spaces. However, this religious requirement often limits their participation in different organizations, which may require them to dress in particular ways, such as wearing skirts and blouses. Failure to adhere to these specifications may cause religious discrimination and unfair dismissal, an aspect that reveals the struggle of power between the intersectionality of culture, identity, and social structures.
The intersectionality between gender, race, social structures, and institutional frameworks shows the struggle for power amongst Muslim women in American society. Most employers in the United States often view religion as exhausting and tend to remain unaccommodating to various religious and ethnic diversity in their workplace (Aziz, 2012). As such, some organizations may prefer to hire individuals that identify and understand organizational culture rather than taking their knowledge, qualifications, and skills into consideration. As such, employers who choose candidates based on their ability to fit into organizational norms, notwithstanding their qualifications and experiences can cause most Muslim women to remain unemployed. This aspect, coupled with the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia in the United States, often creates a dilemma between self-development and abiding by the religious specification. However, failure to abide by the religious specifications can cause the women to be viewed as outcasts and face conflicts from within.
Conclusion
The intersectionality of gender and racial categories within the Islamic religion has caused mainstream women to become identifiable and discriminated against, particularly in their struggle for power and identity. Muslim women are often predisposed to discrimination based on their intersectionality between gender, race, and identity with their religion. The inequalities experienced by women in this group in the country are loosely related processes, practices, and actions that result in gender and class inequalities as well as various social inequalities in society. These social inequalities affect Muslim women’s struggle for identity and power in different facets that range from education, work, families, marriage, and entrepreneurship.
References
Aziz, S. F. (2012). From the oppressed to the terrorist: Muslim-American women in the crosshairs of intersectionality. Hastings Race & Poverty LJ, 9, 191. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1981777
Bécares, L., & Priest, N. (2015). Understanding the influence of race/ethnicity, gender, and class on inequalities in academic and non-academic outcomes among eighth-grade students: findings from an intersectionality approach. PloS one, 10(10), e0141363. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141363
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. u. Chi. Legal f., 139.c
Furness, H. (2012, December 7). Women ‘remove’ hijabs to get work’ as ethnic minorities face more discrimination. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9728869/Women-remove-hijabs-to-get-work-as-ethnic-minorities-face-more-discrimination.html.