Like everything else it depicts in any medium, the medias portrayal of women sheds light incorrectly on a specific group; this time its Muslim women. Some of the main messages that are imposed on this target group are: that Muslim women are oppressed under the hijab or the covering, they have no input or control in any decision making that may concern society or themselves, they are properties of their husbands or male relatives, they are uneducated,depressed,and all in all they are victims of a patriarchal society. These stereotypes have arised from a couple of events that involved Muslims perpetuating violence against others. As a result the entire religion has been tarnished and generalized. It is considered to be“violent” . Since a woman can be more easily recognized as a Muslim than a man, they are the target of all the fallacies that are spread.
What the media doesn’t know is that the hijab is a form of liberation. When a woman is covered, it allows her not to be judged for her appearance but instead her intellect. It also helps prevents any unwanted sexual advances from sexual predators. So really it’s a benefit rather than a forced responsibility. As for Muslim women’s rights, they’ve always had rights since the religion came to existence(520 AD)where as woman in the western world have just recently been given their rights in society.
Coming from a personal experience, I find it funny when people ask me why I wear the hijab.
As hard as it is to not play devils advocate, and answer with a " Why dont you wear the hijab?" I usually just explain or dismiss the question. My point is that just because its not the "norm" to wear hijab generally in society, it is as if I, or anybody else who wears the hijab is in the wrong. Its like asking someone "So why are you a girl?" You can see what a futile question that is.
As hard as it is to not play devils advocate, and answer with a " Why dont you wear the hijab?" I usually just explain or dismiss the question. My point is that just because its not the "norm" to wear hijab generally in society, it is as if I, or anybody else who wears the hijab is in the wrong. Its like asking someone "So why are you a girl?" You can see what a futile question that is.
So my questions for you are as follows:
1)How do you think that muslim women who observe this negative image of themselves are affected in a Western society?
2)Like all problematic aspects of media and its portrayal of genders or genders in specific groups, there are possible solutions! What are ways we can implement or more specifically how can we go about creating change in the media?
3) As one of the five key concepts of media literacy, media texts contain beliefs and value messages. So what lifestyle,values,and points of view do you think are represented when portraying Muslim women in media?
I really liked the way you made a contrast between the fact that wearing a hijaab and being homosexual does not fit you into the "norm" of the society.
ReplyDeleteI would just like to comment on the portrayal of Islamic women in media and how they are always shown to be the weak ones and the ones that are always suppressed just because they are a women. There are fallacies regarding Islam and how the religion treats women, which is mostly created through the media.
I think one of the ways that the media can be changed to become free of the gender stereotypes is to view women and men as equal and not differentiating between the genders. It is a person's choice of who they want to become and what gender they choose to be. Although they might not be fitting into the "norm" of our Western society, we have to consider that if you born a certain way, you can't really change yourself but have to accept the way you are and face the challenges you might face because of your gender choice.
It is funny how a homosexual person might be asked questions such as "Why are you homosexual? When did you find out you were homosexual? Have you told anybody aboout your homosexuality?"
Imagine replacing the word "homosexual" with "heterosexual" and we will actually see that some of these questions might actually sound funny.
I agree with your post about Islamic stereotypes, and specifically woman is Islam. To answer your first question, Practicing Islam in eastern society is different then western society, and the reason is that the media tries to change the image of Muslims in the world. In western countries, the media looks at Islam and thinks of it as danger. For example, the media thinks that woman wear the hijab because they are being forced to wear it, but they don’t know that the hijab is a symbol of protection. I believe that not just woman, but all Muslims are suffering from the media (western society’s media).
ReplyDeleteTo answer your next question, I believe it’s our responsibility as a Muslim society to change not just the media’s minds, but the western society. Now, the image of Muslims in the western countries had changed drastically. For example, since the terror attacks in New York in 2001, people think for some reason that Islam provokes violence. This is significant because not only it changes the society of western countries, but it slowly changes that society of the Muslims that do live in western countries.
TO CHANGE THE MEDIA’S THINKING, THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO CHANGE THE MEDIA’S INTERPERTATIION OF MUSLIM STEROTYPES, AND OTHER TYPES OF STEROTYPES LIKE GENDER, AND SEXUAL STERYOTYPES.
I agree fully with what your saying and the strong arguments that you have put up. As all our parents have come to this western country to have a better future and more opportunities it has been taking a turn for the worst recently. Our female sisters who wear the hijab with pride have been being put down for following one rule in the islamic text. Wearing the hijab is a act of modesty, it not only protects you from envy and evil eye, it takes away any sexual predators. I believe the hijab a sense of beauty and respect, when I see a muslim sister on the street with the hijab I automatically think that she has respect for herself and her religion.
ReplyDeleteFor the western society to put down our sisters in Islam down because of what they wear really puts a burden on my heart. Most females would feel as if they are doing something wrong and what they repersent is not beauty but something they should be ashamed of. Putting these diffrent thoughts into young practacing sisters minds make them rethink there look on life and there opinion that they must look like every other girl just to fit in.
Changing the media's outlook on the " opressed " muslim female will not happen over not but will take many years maybe decades in fact to get the word out. As muslims we should stick together in times of need and put out information booths or confrences explaning why the hijab is important and how it helps our females respect themselves. Muslims are a strong group of people with intelligent minds and forgivinng mentalities, we should use that to our advantage and guide the media into the goodness of islam and the fundamentals of this peaceful and modest religion.
Finally when looking at muslim women in society you would think a woman who is trapped in her home with no education and under strict rules of her husband. That is a view on the muslim woman that is totally and absolutely false. Our muslim woman are highly educated and are not on strict demands of there husbands, the muslim male puts his wife on a pedastool, he appreciates her and loves her as his equal. Society needs to realize that they shouldnt judge a book by its cover, just because muslim females are dressed in dark full length clothing, doesnt mean there life is dark and sad.
Well Adnan has said everything i wanted to so perfectly so I’m just going to add on with some things I’ve experienced because of my hijab.
ReplyDeleteOther then thinking women in Hijab are oppressed some people also have the misconception that we are not educated or cannot speak English even if we live in Canada. I was once at a mall with my younger sister and we both where hijab and we were waiting outside footlocker for my mom, and we were just talking about random stuff and this "white" girl passed by and was staring at us, (people tend to stare a lot if someone’s in a hijab) and when she heard us start talking in perfect English her mouth literally opened in a “omg they spoke English” kind of expression. I felt sad that there are still ignorant people out there and will continue to be unless we start changing the way media and society views us.
Faiza, what you have said is very thoughtful but what does muslim women being misrepresented in the media have to do with gender choice?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Adnan, in order for their to be change we need to change society’s view on muslim women since media only reflects our society’s values and opinions. Since its muslim women who are being misrepresented here do you think that by having more muslim women working in fields such as journalism will help take the bias out of media’s view on this specific group and that way allow the public to gain more knowledge about the life, values, and beliefs of the Islamic faith.
Wow, Adnan S, your comment was really touching and powerful! I understand exactly what you’re saying. It too pains me to see when a sister in hijab is looked down upon. But trust me, most of us wear it with proud! It’s interesting to know that media ,or society for that matter, has become so corrupt to a point where the concern is no longer poverty, world hunger, injustice or any other dire issue that affects our world, but it is when a woman simply chooses to cover herself that there is uproar and objection. Ironic isn’t?
I agree with your answer to the last question too. Most definitely it is the Muslim women who are being misrepresented and instead western lifestyle’s views and opinions are only being represented. The media is merely making superficial judgements without fully going into depths of the wisdom behind as to why Muslim women wear the hijab and so they just automatically label it as “oppression”, a definite generalization.
Aimon, it used to be thought that being female was a deficiency but now maybe some people have adopted the belief that perhaps wearing a hijab is a deficiency too, one where, in your specific case, prevents you from speaking English fluently if any at all.
Funny, no?
I agree what with Adnan S., said about the media's views on women in veils. The media is a deceitful tool, that falsifies information and twists it in a way that they see is beneficial to them. I, as a practicing muslim, wear the hijab with respect and have come to love it over the years. The media pressures individuals, and makes them feel that if their group isn't shown on TV, that they aren't part of society. This is kind of a funny story, but one day I was walking in the mall when this girl was just staring at me, so I turned in her direction and stared back. I didn't stand there and watch her the whole day because, after a few minutes it became really awkward. Anyway my point is to show that I wasn't gonna back down and let her stare at me like a freak, so watched her back. The media portrays propaganda, and ever since 9/11 , the hijab has become a universal phenomenon. It has made it even more difficult for some to wear it and not feel like a target and be subjected to the stereotype that everyone who dons the hijab is a terrorist, which is NOT! true.
ReplyDeleteTrue. The media does present false attributes forward about muslim women,but it only takes a few people to raise their voice and change media's attitudes towards not only the women but the whole faith!I havent seen many muslims putting out their beliefs, values, and opinions just like the media is doing so we can educate the general public. Is the use of media not accessable to most of us?
ReplyDeleteIf theres one thing I've learnt, its that you have to challenge media and not stay hidden under the dark.That and the media will crush anyone in order to get their story out.
Islam is a religion and it have certain values just like any other religion. Cristianity, Judaism or any other given religion have their own rules and regulations. The funny thing is that when they follow their religion it's not a big deal but it surely becomes an issue when a muslim woman is trying to do what the religion have told her to do. A woman doesn't become any weak than a man or any other lady because she is wearing a hijab. Media have portrayed those women differently then they should be, because they are just like any other women but the only difference is she's wearing a hijab. Wearing a hijab doesn't make you a terrorist or anyother thing, it beautifies a woman's beauty.
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ReplyDeleteLike many have commented, I too believe that educating the public on Islamic values is the way to go but it’s important to understand that some may not accept them even after being educated (ex. the purpose of the hijab). There shouldn’t be so much of a stress on the society understanding the purpose of the hijab but rather there should be an emphasis on acceptance towards it. In our society it’s impossible that everyone will understand the purpose of the hijab but at the least there should be a tolerance towards it that must be established. It isn’t necessary that someone understands something to accept it, accepting something you may or may not believe yourself is embedded in the fundamentals our society, fundamentals that SHOULD be emulated.
ReplyDeleteWe have to tell others in western society about our beliefs. For example most people don't know why we wear hijab. I have been asked about my hijab from many people. The best thing to do is to explain them in a nice manner. Once i was telling my teacher that one of the reasons why we wear it is because we want to hide our beauty. To protect ourselves. I also told her, I look up to Mary, she use to cover her self completely. So i want to cover up my beauty just like her. When i sat down with her and told her many other reasons then she understood the real meaning of wearing hijab. Many of the students in my old school use to think that all the muslim girls are forced to wear it and i told them that it is our choice and believe it or not, i actually like it when i wear it. This idea in their mind is that muslim girls are forced to wear hijab is created by the media. My friends who didn't wear hijab, they always had to straight and curl their hair. This is another good reason to wear a hijab so that you won't be burning your hair all the time and will also save time. Overall, there are more good reasons to wearing a hijab than not to wear one. The problem is that the western society doesn't know this because the media fails to tell the positive side of covering up.
ReplyDeleteJust something that came to mind about what Raisa said about explaining to others about why we wear Hijab. The one major issue is that people who are not Muslim and don’t know the meaning of Hijab are getting conflicting messages because there are many girls that don’t wear Hijab and many who do there are also some who don’t wear Hijab properly (ex. hair showing). Also when you ask a girl whether Hijab is mandatory or not she would probably say no if she wasn’t wearing one because she doesn’t want to look bad, but yet others say it is so what should people believe? (btw Hijab is mandatory in the Islamic religion)
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you summed up what the purpose of the hijab is :)
ReplyDeleteI think these stereotypes do have negative effects on Muslim women living in the western society. Being the target for strange looks, daggers, pity and anger is something oppressive in itself. How is that supposed to make one feel? I have gotten a fair share of stares from people when I go out covered, thankfully a rude comment was never directed at me, but the pity looks/comments were definitely there. I have never been forced to wear the hijab or abayah, it was my choice!
In order to eliminate these stereotypes I believe the first step is to teach people about Islam. Many of these stereotypes are created out of ignorance and lack of knowledge.
I’ve noticed that those who have been contributing to this blog are all Muslim. It would’ve been nice If I got some feedback from those who are not affiliated to Islam in order for a more unbiased opinion for all of us and deeper perception about what other people believe and think when they see a woman in hijab. We would, in more ways then one, get to see the mechanics behind how a person who isn’t Muslim might feel towards women and the hijab.
ReplyDeleteHowever for those of you who did comment, it is greatly appreciated! It’s clear that we all have similar values, and opinions and that is to be expected considering we are all Muslims. Indeed, education or awareness may not change everyone’s attitude and perceptions towards Muslim women but at the same time who said it would? Media displays its opinions in every issue or topic so it’s only wise that we challenge society’s way of thinking. At least by Muslim people educating others, there will be more people who will change their thinking and as a result be more accepting.