The Practice of Headscarf Among Veiled University Students in the United States: Why They Wear The Headscarf? And What Does The Headscarf Mean to Them?

Yıl 2022, Cilt: 8 Sayı: 1, 1 - 29, 15.01.2022

Ayşe Elmalı Karakaya

Öz

The headscarf, as a visible symbol of Islam, has aroused a great deal of scholarly investigation and debate about the meaning of the headscarf and veiled women’s experiences. However, there have been few studies related to the headscarf and Muslim women on university campuses in the United States. This study focuses on veiled Muslim female students from different nationalities attending the University of Houston. The study examines the main reasons related to the students’ decision for wearing the headscarf and the effect cultural background has on this decision and their experiences. The interview data of 28 veiled Muslim students of different nationalities indicated that although religious belief contributed as a main factor in the decision to wear the headscarf, for many participants’ cultural background and social environment played significant roles in both their decision and conceptualization of wearing the headscarf.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Headscarf, Hijab, Muslim University Students, Muslim women, Veiling, Islam

Destekleyen Kurum

Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı

Teşekkür

I am delighted to state that my MA studies were funded by the Republic of Turkish Ministry of National Education during my education abroad. / Yurtdışındaki eğitimim sırasında YL çalışmalarımı finanse eden T.C. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı'na teşekkür ederim.

Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'nde Başörtülü Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Başörtüsü Tecrübeleri: Neden Başörtüsü Takıyorlar? Başörtüsü Onlar İçin Ne İfade Ediyor?

Öz

İslam dininin görünür bir sembolü olarak başörtüsü konusu gerek örtünün Müslüman kadınlar için anlamı gerekse de başörtülü kadınların tecrübeleri açısından pek çok akademik araştırma ve tartışmanın konusu olmuştur. Konuyla ilgili birçok araştırma yapılmış olmasına rağmen, özellikle Amerikan üniversitelerinde başörtülü kadınlar ve baş örtüsü tecrübeleri ile ilgili oldukça az sayıda araştırma bulunmaktadır. Araştırmamız Amerika’da Houston Üniversitesi’nde okuyan farklı milletlere mensup başörtülü kadınlar üzerine odaklanmaktadır. Çalışmamız burada okuyan Müslüman kız öğrencilerin başlarını örtmelerindeki temel sebepler ve sahip oldukları kültürel arka planın bu kararları ve başörtüsü tecrübeleri üzerindeki etkisini araştırmaktadır. 28 başörtülü Müslüman öğrenci ile yapılan yüz yüze görüşmeler ortaya koymuştur ki her ne kadar dini inanç öğrencilerin başlarını örtme kararlarında temel faktör olsa da katılımcıların birçoğu için sahip oldukları kültürel geçmiş ve bulundukları/geldikleri sosyal çevre hem kararlarında hem de başörtüsü takma algılarında önemli rol oynamıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Başörtüsü, üniversite, müslüman kadın, islam, Amerika

Kaynakça

• ACLU, “Discrimination Against Muslim Women, The Women’s Right Project”. Accessed 1 September 2021 https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/discriminationagainstmuslimwomen11.08.pdf
• Ahmed, Leila. Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
• Bartkowski, John P., and Jen'nan Ghazal Read. "Veiled Submission: Gender, Power, and Identity Among Evangelical and Muslim Women in the United States", Qualitative Sociology 26/1 (2003), 71-92.
• Bullock, Katherine. Islam Rethinking Muslim Women and The Veil. International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2003.
• Byng, Michelle. “Complex Inequalities: The Case of Muslim Americans After 9/11.” American Behavioral Scientist 51/5 (2008), 659-674.
• Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), “Civil Rights Report: The Struggle for Equality”, Accessed 1 September 2021. https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CAIR-2006-Civil-Rights-Report.pdf
• Fernea, Elizabeth W. “The Veiled Revolution”, Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East. Ed. Donna L Bowen and Evelyn A. Early, 151-153. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 2002.
• Furseth, Inger. “The Hijab: Boundary Work and Identity Negotiations Among Immigrant Muslim Women in the Los Angeles Area”, Review of Religious Research 52/4 (2011) 365-385.
• Goffman, Erving. Strategic Interaction. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1969.
• Göle, Nilufer. The Forbidden Modern: Civilization and Veiling. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996.
• Gurbuz, Mustafa E. and Gulsum Gurbuz-Kucuksari. “Between Sacred Codes and Secular Consumer Society: The Practice of Headscarf Adoption among American College Girls”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 29/3 (2009) 387-399.
• Haddad, Yvonne Y. "The Post-9/11 Hijab as Icon." Sociology of Religion 68/3 (2007), 253-267.
• Haddad, Yvonne Y., Jane I. Smith, and Kathleen M. Moore,,Muslim Women in America: The Challenge of Islamic Identity Today. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
• Haddad, Yvonne Y., and Adair T. Lummis. Islamic Values in the United States: A Comparative Study. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
• Hessini, Leila. “Wearing the Hijab in Contemporary Morocco: Choice and Identity.” Reconstructing Gender in the Middle East –Tradition, Identity, and Power, ed. Fatma Muge Gocek and Shiva Balaghi, 40-56. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994.
• Hoodfar, Homa. "The Veil in their Minds and on our Heads: The Persistence of Colonial Images of Muslim Women", Resources for Feminist Research 22/3 (1992), 5-18.
• Hunt, Brandon. “Publishing Qualitative Research in Counseling Journals”, Journal of Counseling and Development 89/3 (2011), 296-300.
• Killian, Caitlin. “The Other Side of the Veil: North African Women in France Respond to the Headscarf Affair”, Gender and Society 17/4 (2003), 567-590.
• Maruoka, Etsuko. Veiled Passion: Negotiation of Gender, Race and Religiosity among Young Muslim American Women. New York: State University of New York at Stony Brook, PhD Thesis, 2008.
• Moruzzi, Norma Claire. “A Problem with Headscarves: Contemporary Complexities of Political and Social Identity”, Political Theory 22/4 (1994), 653-672.
• Read, Jen'an G., and Bartkowski John P. "To Veil Or Not To Veil?: A Case Study of Identity Negotiation among Muslim Women in Austin, Texas." Gender & Society 14/3 (2000), 395-417.
• Ruby, Tabassum F. “Listening to the Voices of Hijab”, Women's Studies International Forum. 29/1 (2006), 54-66.
• Shakeri, Esmail. “Muslim Women in Canada: Their Role and Status as Revealed in the Hijab Controversy”, Muslims on the Americanization path? Ed. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad - John L. Esposito, 129-144. Oxford: Oxford University Press., 2000.
• Stowasser. Barbara Freyer. Women in the Quran, traditions, and interpretation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
• Toprak, Metin and Nasuh Uslu. “The Headscarf Controversy in Turkey”, Journal of Economic and Social Research 11/1 (2009), 43-67.
• The University of Houston, “Statistical Handbook”, Accessed 13 September 2021. https://www.uh.edu/ir/reports/new-statistical-handbook/
• Williams, Rhys H., and Gira Vashi. “Hijab and American Muslim Women: Creating the Space for Autonomous Selves”, Sociology of Religion 68/3 (2007), 269-87.
• Zine, Jasmin. “Unveiled Sentiments: Gendered Islamophobia and Experiences of Veiling Among Muslim Girls in a Canadian Islamic School.” Equity & Excellence in Education. 39/3 (2006), 239-252.