THE EFFECTS OF ISLAMOPHOBIA AND VIOLENCE ON A WOMAN’S DECISION TO WEAR THE HIJAB
THE EFFECTS OF ISLAMOPHOBIA AND VIOLENCE ON A WOMAN’S DECISION TO WEAR THE HIJAB
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Abstract
The Hijab and other different forms of Muslim veiling are crucial religious, social, and cultural symbols. The Hijabs are important as they are used to identify Islamic women globally. Islam has for a long time been taken as a terrorism-linked religion. The veil in Western countries is seen as the personification of Islamic women's oppression in addition women in Hijabs are also viewed as a threat and a danger to the safety of the public due to their dress. Due to these stereotypes, Hijab clad Muslim women are a target to attack when seen in public.
Islamophobia is on the rise in the UK and Europe in general, and despite it being common, many Islamic women are not ashamed to wear the Hijab; to some, it is a signal of pride in their ethnic orientation. This paper aims to identify the effects of Islamophobia and violence on a woman's decision to wear the Hijab. The research will be conducted in the UK with the target population being Islamic women. The participants were given a questionnaire that they were required to fill out regarding Islamophobia and the wearing of the Hijab. The paper will also outline the challenges that veiled Muslim women undergo in their day-to-day activities in the UK. The findings demonstrate that the Hijab is a significant contributor to Islamophobia as well as a fueling factor towards violence against Islamic women.
Table of Contents
Stereotypes Associated with Wearing the Hijab. 5
Impact of islamophobic victimization. 10
Criminal justice responses to Islamophobic victimization. 11
The Hijab from Islamic Women Perspective. 13
Conclusion and recommendation. 18
THE EFFECTS OF ISLAMOPHOBIA AND VIOLENCE ON A WOMAN’S DECISION TO WEAR THE HIJAB
Introduction
The Hijab is worn by many Muslim women globally as a traditional head covering. To the veil-wearing women, the Hijab is considered an expression of their culture and faith as well as a significant symbol of being associated with Islam. Wearing the Hijab elicits considerable influence on how non-Muslim individuals perceive Islamic women. The perceptions are unfortunately not at all times positive and are an often-discussed issue in non-Muslim western communities (Wagner et al. 2012:346). In Western society, wearing the Hijab is likely to promote hostility and encourage out-group perceptions towards Muslim women. Muslim women in different countries in the world are more likely to be a hate crime and speech victims than Muslim men mainly due to the wearing of the Hijab (Perry 2014:79). The Hijab has a negative connotation, which makes Islamic women conspicuous. There is however an overlap of the misconceptions about the Hijab; which, all contribute to Islamophobia in various ways.
Literature Review
Stereotypes Associated with Wearing the Hijab
Women Oppression
Hijab-wearing in public places in Western countries is taken as a symbol of women's subordination. The veil represents the subjugation and patriarchy of Islamic women on the basis that they have been forced to wear it by men (Zine 2006:245). In this perception, the Islamic female dress works as a metonym for the assumed backwardness of the Islamic religion in general. The Hijab is therefore taken as a sign of women's oppression, which the Western community prides itself as its liberator. Cladding in hijabs in Muslim countries may be out of societal pressure, however; wearing the Hijab in a liberal democratic state for example, in the United Kingdom where veiling is voluntary signifies that wearing a veil is out of choice (Zempi 2016: 54). In Western countries, however, women in the Hijab are considered voiceless victims; which is attributed to the failure to acknowledge their choice to wear the Hijab.
Islam and Terrorism
Wearing the Hijab in public areas in the UK and the neighboring European nations is stereotypically viewed as a symbol of fundamentalism, as it is seen as a visual symbol of the threat (Zempi, 2016:138). Islamic women are seen as oppressed, while male Muslims are viewed as a threat. The women are stereotyped not as terrorists but as terrorist sympathizers. The Islamic dress hinders identification and can be used as a cover for terrorism (Spalek & Imtoual: 2007: 185).
The Hijab is seen as a sign of terrorism and extremism in Islam; however, it is taken as cultural fundamentalism in that it works to proselytize non-Islamic Islam. The West, therefore, considers the Hijab as the execution of religious propaganda with an agenda to dominate the European community (Moghaddam 2017:36). The Hijab hides not just the face but also the secret plan, that is to impose Sharia legislation in the Western society; hence, it is seen as a representation of a particular form of political Islamism that is in existence in Muslim countries including Afghanistan and Iraq.
National Cohesion
Hijab-wearing in the West has been seen as a marker of segregation and a hindrance to integration. The Hijab promotes the communal isolation of Islamic women. The Hijab is therefore rejected as it is seen as a non-western culture in inception and adoption. To Westerners, Islamic clothing puts the wearers in a situation of isolation and segregation because it leads to communication challenges with the person with a covered face. Hence to this perception, the Hijab is viewed as a hindrance to face-to-face communication as it makes interpersonal communication less transparent. Therefore, it shows that wearing the Hijab is routinely recognized, as a hindrance to direct interaction and hence as social isolation and segregation.
Islam Religion in the UK
In Europe, Islam is viewed as a significant threat to Western values than any other religious faith. Such biases are consequential as they often reflect or influence policies, laws, and practices. Unfavorable perceptions and opinions may lead to a ban on religious attire as well as create hostility towards immigrants from Islamic countries (Chakraborti. & Zempi 2013: 64). In the United Kingdom, there are approximately 1.6-2.7 million individuals of the Islamic Faith (Spalek& Imtoual, 2007:168). Half of this population is native to the UK (Spalek & Imtoual, 2007:167). About 4.8 percent of the total population is comprised of British Muslims ( Spalek& Imtoual, 2007:171). The UK has embraced multiculturalism and has put in place policies that promote multiculturalism. However, according to a report based on a survey in 2012, about 75 percent of Western civilization chose Islam as the most violent religion (Ciftci, 2012:35). 43 percent of Britons identified the religion as fanatical, while 32 percent categorized the religion as violent in France (Ciftci, 2012:35). In 2013, after two self-identifying Muslims killed a British soldier in London, less than one in every four Britons found Islam compatible with western values (Abdelkader, 2016:37). 35 percent of the Britons saw the Islamic faith as a threat based on research conducted in 2014 ( Spalek& Imtoual, 2007:165). Not all women of the Islamic faith wear the Hijab; however, female Muslims are always vulnerable to street violence that is motivated by their attributes associated with Islam.
According to a survey by the anti-Muslim crimes, group Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) in 2016, there was a considerable increase in hate crimes against individuals affiliated with the Islamic faith. According to the initiative, not only are the Muslims prone to attack but also their experiences show Islamophobic and misogynistic implications. Along with other perceptions of Hijab-clad Islamic women, they are often depicted as oppressed and socially dangerous to the Western culture (Awan, 2016:23). The stereotype led to the criminalization of Hijab-wearing in public places with countries such as France introducing a ban claim that such attire was not welcome and that laws would cover women who were pressured to dress in Hijab (Moosavi 2015:18). Following bans of the Hijab in other western countries, for instance, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, and the Netherlands, there have been bills by some Members of Parliament to prohibit the Hijab in Britain (Moosavi 2015:23). Such laws are based on the need to safeguard Islamic women from being oppressed by men who reduce and depicts the women as weak (Moosavi 2015:32). More to that, the laws fosters a message of intolerance, and shows that Islamic women who clad the Hijab do not belong to the European culture. The message portrayed by Hijab-clad women has an effect that encourages Islamic women to remain at home and out of public areas.
Street violence against women, in general, is on the rise. However, there is limited research work examining the experiences of Hijab-wearing women. With the popular perception of women's oppression in Islamic culture, the Hijab's visibility renders Islamic women the ideal target for street harassment. Therefore, Hijab wearing marks Islamic women as more readily viable as an easy target to be attacked by Islamophobic individuals (Zempi 2014:26). Veiled women experience street harassment due to various reasons including their religion, gender, appearances, and other aspects of their identities. The complicacy of Islamic women's identities includes; (1) Women's gender status, which faces more discrimination in general towards access to social resources, finances, jobs, and most importantly education. (2) The women's cultural belonging is controlled by structural, cultural, and social challenges brought about by gender socialization. (3) Women's status as immigrants and minorities in Western socialization and the resulting economic and social marginalization (4) The Islamic women's mode of dressing signifies modesty and physical integrity and distinguishes them from other faiths. The mentioned stereotypes mark Islamic women as the target of discrimination and hate crimes.
Islamophobic Victimization
According to a report on the Prominence of Islamic women as the target of Islamophobic discrimination, found that Islam undergoes faith discrimination with consistency and seriousness that is perceived as higher than that endured by people from other religions (Zempi 2014:38). Hijab-wearing women remain vulnerable; however, this phenomenon has been ignored. The Hijab functions as a center of attention for antagonism towards the Islamic religion the factuality that it brings together diverse anti-Muslim themes. The wearing of the Hijab in Western culture provokes the general public towards manifestations of Islamophobia due to its symbol of self-segregation, whether chosen or self-imposed. Individuals who wear the Hijab experience more hostility than individuals who do not wear it because when Muslim women choose to wear a Hijab, they are viewed as intentionally secluding themselves and rejecting the values they find western (Ghumman &Jackson 2010:25). The image of Hijab-wearing women perceived by the westerners represents the Islamic religion as the perpetrators of various attacks. In essence, the Hijab-wearing Muslims are identified as the ones responsible for the actions of the terrorists. Due to various terrorist attacks that are linked to Islam, victimization against Islamic women is justifiable due to the conflation of Islam with terrorist activities (Ghumman &Jackson, 2010:56).
In the UK, high levels of Islamophobia are mainly targeted at Muslim individuals who are distinguishable from non-Muslims. Therefore it is evident that Hijab wearing Muslims are victims of Islamophobia. Women have experienced violence as their Hijabs are forcibly pulled from their bodies. There are other issues including a woman being hit with a baseball bat. In serious cases an Islamic child was sprayed with paper spray while another Muslim woman was intentionally hit by a car (McKenna& Francis 2018:18). Islamic women have endured high levels of discrimination, particularly practicing women in the UK are likely to undergo discrimination due to Islamic affiliation. Therefore religion instead of ethnicity or race is recognized as the more important marker by which Islamic discrimination is centered.
Mosques are another area where Islamophobia is evident. Mosques are an easy and identifiable target because of their visible nature. However, from a comparative perspective, the wearing of the Hijab makes Islamic women the most probable target of Islamophobia as it is mainly directed towards real people rather than buildings related to Islam. As the veil is used to enhance Islamophobia, the beard in men which is reinforced by images of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban forms the basis for Islamophobia against Islamic men (Abbas 2004:27). However, even with it being an Islam identifier it is rarely associated with the attack against Muslims men as the hijab is on Islamic women.
As of 2014, figures and studies show that anti-Muslim incidents are currently at record levels higher in comparison to the start of the decade. Based on the figures Muslims accounted for more than half of all the cases of religiously aggravated incidents at 54 percent while up to 50 percent of mosques and Islamic organizations endured at least one attack(Perry 2014:79). As of 2011, the Islam faithful living in British reported of experiencing at least one case of Islamophobic abuse, intimidation or harassment in public. The estimating of anti-Islam attacks carried out from April 2012 to April 2013 identified that 58 percent of all reported incidents of aggression were against Islamic women while 80 percent of the Muslim women targeted were visually identifiable as being of Islamic faith due to their dressing (Chakraborti &Zempi 2012).
The denial by veiled Muslim women to conform to the Western expectation of being the object of gaze encompasses disruption of power relations in the public sphere. The symbolism showcases Muslim women in Hijab very visibly in the public sphere where they cannot walk without being noticed. The veil therefore shows the sexual unavailability of the Islamic women. Due to this men and women may, therefore, find it difficult to forgive those who interfere with the masculine gaze. Consequently, Islamic women may be victims of attack for failing to conform to male expectations of how women should dress and behave.
Impact of Islamophobic Victimization
Islamophobic victimization is felt at different levels namely by an individual, the wider Islamic community where the victim belongs, and the society as a whole. At the individual level, islamophobia is endured by veiled Islamic women which may include the forced removal of their veils as well as physical and verbal attacks. This form of victimization is associated with the suffering of Islamic groups living in the UK as well as the general Muslim community. Islamophobic victimization incurs various costs on an individual including experiences that involve: physical, emotional, psychological as well as financial liabilities. Islamophobia victimization against women clad in Hijab has both psychological and emotional impacts which lead to depression, anxiety fear as well as anger which generally affects the quality of life of the victim. The victims usually have a hard time overcoming the traumatic experience. Veiled Islamic women who have endured Islamophobia are unable to adjust to the comfort in the belief that what they have suffered from could have been random and any other women regardless of whether they are of Islam faith or not could have undergone it as well (Perry 2014:79). Instead, the veiled Islamic women are forced to view this victimization as an attack on their Islamic identity. However, targeted Islamophobic victimization is mainly directed towards the community and not the individual victim. Therefore the intimidation is not targeted at an individual rather than the community in general since it is not restricted to the victims of Islamophobic victimization; instead, the harm extends to the wider Islamic community.
Criminal Justice Responses to Islamophobic Victimization
Individuals who endure victimization due to their religious affiliation may experience behavioral changes, individual perception, and self-identity as well as change in the relationship with formal agencies including the court and the police with whom the victimized individuals are obliged to report in case of any victimization. Even with an increase in Islamophobic victimization cases, a great deal of Islamophobic incidents remain unreported. This is attributed to the way the police handle the victimized individual who in the end lowers the victim's confidence and trust in the police and the criminal justice system in general. Therefore Islamophobic victims are not likely to report their experiences to the authorities. Some victims, however, don't consider low-level hate harassment as a serious incident that should be reported, and in most cases; incidents of Islamophobia are reported if there is a serious physical injury to the victim.
The intensity of Islamophobia victimization is not the only contributor to the non-reporting behavior of the victim. Cultural influence is another factor that hinders the victim from reporting the incident to the police whereby the Muslim community exerts pressure on the individual not to involve outside agencies for instance the court and the police (Wagner et al 2012: 89). Other reasons for not reporting the cases of Islamophobia victimization include; language barriers with the victims having a limited conceptualization of English to have enough confidence to air out their situation to the authority or the relevant authority. The victim's age may also have an impact on the decision on whether to report the incident or not.
Inadequate confidence in the authority is also a major contributor to the failure to report Islamophobia victimization incidents. According to James and Simmonds (2013), the police address hate crime incidents differently and hence fail to gain the victim's confidence by failing to grasp the racist victimization process that the victims have experienced. Some Islamic followers in Britain perceive the police as racist, which limits them from reporting the issues. Based on a previously conducted study, a widespread lack of trust in the police as well as the Judicial system was identified amongst the Hijab wearers who had experienced attacks in public areas in Europe. Other victims were worried by the spread of the issue to the media houses. Some victims were worried about the procedures and the protocols involved with the reporting, for instance, going to court.
Even though the reasons for non-reporting of the incidents are different and well known to an individual, it is evident that the levels of trust and confidence in the police are a major contributor to the under-reporting of Islamophobic victimization. Due to the non-reporting behavior in the UK, it is difficult to quantify and assess the scale of Islamophobic victimization.
The Hijab from Islamic Women's Perspective
Muslim women in the UK wear the Hijab as a symbol of freedom of choice and an expression of their faith and commitment to Allah. From a Muslim perspective, Hijabs have other advantages including public modesty and a sense of protection from men's stares. In the Islamic states, the Hijab does not attract the attention of the public since a majority of women wear it; unlike in non-Islamic states where the veil attracts attention since veiling is not a common thing in the non-Islamic states. Therefore in the UK and other Western states Muslim women clad in Hijab stand out of the crowd putting them in the spotlight, which monopolizes the image of Muslim women. In the UK, the invisibility and visibility of a woman’s body become key in fueling the Hijab as a sign of Muslim seclusion which emphasizes the distinction between the non-veiled and veiled woman.
To most Islamic women Hijab wearing is attributed to religious piety and observance to the Quranic description. Various verses in the Quran have described the importance of veiling in Islam. Veiling practice allows women to take part in the public sphere of their male counterparts. Therefore wearing the Hijab shows the wearer's conformity and devotion to Allah's commandments. The veil not only puts Islamic women on a moral high ground compared to their non-Islam peers but also, offers an alternative role model for Islamic young women. Therefore to Muslim women, the Hijab is a symbol of modesty that demands respect.
The veil indicates Islam identity and is worn as a visible manifestation of being an Islam follower. It signifies protection from sexual harassment and also is an indication of allegiance to the Islam religion. Religious observance is the most plausible motivation for wearing the Hijab; however, it is not the only reason Islamic women wear their Hijabs. Many Muslims wear the Hijab as a way of asserting their understanding of true Islam (Wagner et al 2012: 52). Hijab demonstrates that the Islamic religion gives equal rights to both women and men of faith by giving them the option for autonomous decision-making making which includes the decision to clad in Hijab and interact with others freely without being judged.
In non-Muslim communities, the Hijab is a source of friendship network among Islamic women. With the Hijab, Muslim women can recognize great others even if they are strangers as they belong to the same ummah. In the West wearing the Hijab is advantageous as it brings a sense of belonging to the ummah, and offers better marriage prospects as well as freedom of movement(Mohamad & Kusrin 2014:68). The veil serves as a visible rejection of sexual promiscuity of the Western socialization which has mostly been affected by reduced standards of public decency. Therefore women clad in Hijab in Europe have a high self-esteem on the issue of women's sexuality as the Hijab is seen as a symbol against consumerism and objectification of female bodies in Western culture.
Hijab and Fashion
Modern Hijab is in existence in the fashion industry in different makes. To enhance its attractiveness, the Hijab can be made in diverse styles, and ornamental designs, just like any other female garment. Apart from the veil being a monolithic religious garment, the Hijab points to a multiplicity of women's sexuality for its dressers. Islamic women have become fashion-conscious and are wearing other fashion accessories with the Hijab. The women have also advanced their creativity to enumerate the Western culture and have made the veil slightly tighter and added more colors; however without revealing any part of their body (Janmohamed 2016:43).
Even with the advancement and incorporation of the Western culture still under the Islamic prescription of wearing the Hijab; Muslim women who wear the Hijab as a fashion accessory have been criticized by some pious Muslims for losing the true meaning of the Hijab as a form of chastity and public modesty. In many instances, Muslim women have been victims of criticizing their peers in terms of exploring the boundaries of what confirms to religion and is acceptable to the religion. According to the Quran guidelines, however, the Hijab is meant to cover the whole body of a woman. It should be in one color, black, to avoid drawing attention and should be loose and opaque so as not to show a woman’s shape or what she is clad in underneath. The Islamic dress, therefore, should be distinctive and modest from the dress code of the non-Muslims hence representing the Islamic culture and faith.
Choosing to Wear the Veil
There have been various intense debates since the year 2006 whereby Islamic women have been propelled to describe and place themselves, their cultural and religious identities, and practices through a simple small division on whether to or not to clad the Hijab. For Muslim women, there exists a critical sensitivity around dressing and appearances brought by stereotypes and misconceptions around their choice to clad the Islamic attire (Janmohamed 2016:33). According to research by Janmohamed 2016 Muslim women are worried that their status is described as silent revolt to the western culture and obedience to their male counterparts (Janmohamed 2016:34). Islamic women are therefore judged, defined and treated by what they clad in and how they appear. The research further indicates that some women do not consider the attire as oppression but as a form of liberation (Janmohamed 2016:36). However, Muslim women wear the Hijab as a symbol of defiance or assertiveness.
Methodology
The methodology incorporated in this paper involves interviews with Islamic women living in the UK. In the interviews, the participants were asked various questions relating to their faith and the effects of Islamophobia and violence on their decision to wear the Hijab.
This study aimed to determine the experiences of Islamic women clad in Hijabs as victims of Islamophobia and violence in public places in the United Kingdom. As indicated above it's evident that different perceptions of Islamic women being, oppressed, submissive as well and subjugated make them an easy target to attack hence increasing their vulnerability in public areas. The study is of importance with the current legislation and calls to ban Hijabs in the European countries including France, Italy, and Belgium as well as with pressure on the UK Members of Parliament to ban Hijabs in the United Kingdom.
Results
According to the interviews, 70 percent of the respondents who were Islamic women did not wear the hijab outside the mosque while 30 percent wore the hijab outside the mosque. Of the 70 percent who did not wear the hijab outside the mosque, 29 percent did not consider wearing the hijab outside the mosque while 56 percent of the Islamic women would consider wearing the hijab outside the mosque however they have limiting factors including:
- A considerable number cited that they did not feel ready to wear the hijab in public places.
- Some of the respondents cited the fear of the public reaction that is attributed to their religious affiliation, which makes them cautious to avoid attacks.
- To some, the family's decision to wear the hijab was the reason they did not contemplate wearing it outside the mosque.
14 percent of the respondents who did not wear the hijab declined to answer or were not certain whether they would consider wearing the hijab outside the mosque. A significant number of the respondents felt safe walking freely outside without fear while others cited that they were in fear of experiencing Islamophobia. Below are some of the participant’s comments regarding their safety in public places.
Interview question: As a Muslim woman, do you feel safe going out by yourself regardless of the time of the day?
Those Who Felt Unsafe
Respondent 1: I would not go out late at night because I do not feel that safe. After 10:30 pm I would not be out on my own because I do not feel safe in my area.
Respondent 2: Yes I feel safe most of the time. However, because I am from an ethnic minority, obviously this is given away because of my skin color, I think a lot of people can figure out that I am Muslim and this does scare me sometimes.
Those Who Felt Safe
Respondent 3: I take pride in wearing the Hijab and I am not afraid to face the backlash I get for wearing it. Every time I leave the house, I know that there is a possibility that I could be attacked for wearing it; however, it does not stop me from leaving the house. Therefore, I do feel safe wearing it.
Respondent 4: Yes, I live in an area where there are a lot of Muslim women who wear the Hijab.
Respondent 5: I do feel safe because I do not look Muslim. The way I dress does not show that I am Muslim nor even the way I act. I do not have any Muslim friends either so no one would be able to tell that I am Muslim.
Respondent 6: Yes, because I do not visibly look Muslim. As an Arab, I am very light, so I can get away with looking like I come from a white English family. And because I do not wear the Hijab and no one in my family does either, no one can tell that I am Muslim.
Discussion
Based on the analyzed data it is evident that the hijab is a significant contributor to Islamophobia. As shown above, a significant number of women are not comfortable wearing the hijab outside the mosque. Women who wear the hijab are staunch Islam followers and are not afraid of any backlash that they may experience due to the wearing of the hijab. Some wear the hijab as it is part of their Islamic culture; in that they have to hide their faces to prevent drawing the attention of men.
All the respondents cited that women who wear the hijab are at a higher risk of experiencing Islamophobia and hijab-related violence than those without the hijab. The hijab-clad women are at high risk since they are visibly Islam. Those who wear the hijab, do not feel limited in participating in various activities in any way because of the hijab. Some respondents who wear the hijab have had experiences where they were treated differently because they were affiliated with Islam religion with some being insulted in public places. A significant number of the respondents are scared of telling people of their religion. Those who are scared of proclaiming their religion feel that they will be treated differently and as such, they try as much as possible not to make it obvious that they are Islam. Therefore they opt not to wear the hijab.
Based on the respondent's comments on their safety in public places it is evident that a large number of the Islamic women who felt safe are those without any visible trait that links them to their religion. However, a significant number of the respondents who did not feel safe outside cited that their fear of being outside in odd hours is not attributed to their religion or culture; rather it is due to their gender.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Everyone has the freedom of worship and expression; however, the Islamic women in the UK find it hard to express their Islamic religion and their Islamic culture. Hijab-clad Islamic women in the UK experience Islamophobia in public areas. Some of the women have opted not to wear the hijab as it makes them be recognized easily as Islam and hence becomes a target for hate crimes. The hijab is an important part of Muslim identity; however, it makes Islamic women a target of Islamophobia and violence. Islamic women live in fear of being victims of hate crimes due to their religious affiliation. The veil is a major contributor to Islamophobic treatment by non-Islamic communities in the UK. The hijab also fuels the stereotypic conclusions on Islamic women.
The creation of awareness is of importance in reducing Islamophobia in the UK. Just as racial discrimination has been reduced, Islamophobia can also be reduced. Respect for everyone's religious and cultural beliefs is important. A huge number of the Western countries' population link Islam with terrorism and therefore have low regard for Islamic followers. The media has constantly been a tool used in spreading negative things about the Islamic religion due to Islamic linkage with terrorist activities. By using the same media to address various positive things about the Islam religion and the Islamic culture; many people will get to know more about the religion and hence reduce Islamophobia.
Islamic women should be encouraged to report any Islamophobic attacks on them. The reports will help in the creation of awareness since many Islamic women are in fear of attracting public attention when they report Islamophobic attack incidents. The relevant concerned bodies, for instance, the police, should be encouraged to take Islamophobic incidents seriously and ensure that every reported incident is handled fairly and justice for the hijab-wearing women and the Muslim community in general, is achieved.
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Appendices
The pie charts below show the representation of the analyzed data.
Appendix 1
Figure 1 Cladding the Hijab outside the Mosque
Appendix 2
Figure 2 Decision to wear the Hijab
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