Perspectives and experiences of Muslim women who veil on college campuses

Journal of College Student Development, Jan/Feb 2003 by Cole, Darnell, Ahmadi, Shafiqa

Theme 3 emphasizes "serious misconceptions" in the campus community, as stated by Aisha. In this environment, the practice of veiling is largely misunderstood and often perceived as a symbol of women's inferiority to men. In the following example, however, a lack of information and simple curiosity appears the likely motive. Khadija, in this instance, recounted a few unexpected and perhaps perplexing experiences living on campus in an international residence hall and stated,

Somebody asked me, [because of my veil], if I was from Russia. And somebody even asked me, "What's a Muslim?" I've had somebody tell me that if I ever got in a truth-or-dare game with [him], he'd dare me to take off [my scarf].

In Khadija's example, veiling is perceived only as a cultural adornment, not a religious practice.

Elizabeth, too, felt that many people believe veiling is primarily a "cultural practice or cultural dress code, and [not] a religious code." Elizabeth further stated that many people think that this kind of cultural dress is "exotic." Sema agreed and explained,

It's an interesting intersection when it comes to me wearing Western clothes and a headscarf . . . [When I do, there] is a sense of some fear [or] suspicion. "Where is she coming from?"; and "What does that mean?"; "Does that mean [she's] a fundamentalist, or a terrorist-somebody who hates everybody else?" Often, I can see people sort of, not [looking at me in] my eye because of it. [However, when] wearing a Pakistani [outfit] and headscarf, [there] is a sense of, "Oh, how sweet, how exotic," as if I was wearing an African dress-that's cultural, and it's neat and exotic.

Presumably, when religion, not the shawl of a cultural ensemble, is perceived as the reason for veiling, fear and suspicion as opposed to intrigue guides the interaction. In other words, peer interaction motivated out of fear and suspicion are likely to produce alienation and isolation, whereas intrigue may spark conversation, albeit superficial and ethnocentric.

Even when veiled women's physical appearance is perceived as alarming or exotic, Sema asserts that people often assume she subscribes to an antifeminist ideology. Sema stated,

They assume that I will have very conservative antifeminist, submissive views about women. That women should stay at home, not work, [and] submit to their husbands. . . . When they hear that I am not like that-[antifeminist]-for a while, they are really floored and [they] don't know [what to say]. [After that] it takes a while for communication to get off [the ground again]. Isha, a 23-year-old, who has veiled for over 9 years and is a first-year graduate student from Pakistan, concurred and stated,

People have a lot of questions about [the veil]. [They probably think that] you're from one of those Islam[ic] countries, [which has] all these oppressed women. But I don't think they know a lot about why it's done or the rationale behind it; or that there is a philosophy [a religious doctrine] and that it's not necessarily oppression.