Not Welcome Here: The Effects of Discrimination against Hijab Women in the

Workplace
An occupation is difficult for some people and maybe easy for other people for getting as they
need to write a resume and go to an interview Being a member of the workforce, especially for hijab
women, can be a major challenge since they encounter greater discrimination because of their hijab
than those who do not cover their hair and neck. Although they pass the interview, when they tell that
they wore a hijab, out of the blue the company rejected them immediately. Besides that, when hijab
women go to an interview, they are judged by the interviewers about their attire such as if they obtain
this position, they need to take off their hijab. Most of them do not agree with the requirement and are
willing to let go of the job. The thing that inspired me to write this critical response is a journal
written by (Ghumman & Ryan, 2013) titled Not Welcome Here: Discrimination towards women who
wear the Muslim headscarf and news by BBC that recorded all the stories about bias towards hijab
women. One story that opened my eyes about this discrimination is a reporter, Shifa. Shifa told her
office friends forced her to remove her headscarf as people feared her. As a result, I disagree with the
argument that hijab women should face discrimination on the job. Nobody should be treated unfairly,
especially in the job, because all we want to accomplish in this world is to survive or live.
Discrimination or prejudices against hijab women serve no use. In this topic, I will be discussing the
effect of the discrimination faced by hijab women which is a lack of job opportunities and struggling
with mental health.
Firstly, a lack of job opportunities is admittedly one of the concerns faced by hijab women
when they are trying to get the best job. Based on one story, Riham Osman, a hijab woman, gets hired
and fired on her first day of work. Aerotek in Virginia interviewed her and subsequently recruited her
as a passenger service agent; however, she was eventually kicked out of training and sacked for
failing to adhere to the dress code of Air France (Koura, 2018). Although, they are very competent,
can fulfil all the requirements in the jobs, and get a better position in the workplace, the stereotype
about their attire made them lose their jobs. According to Saher et al., (2021), Muslim Hijabi
(headscarf) women in the United States have inferior career chances than non-hijabi Muslim women.
On September 11, a militant Islamist extremist network al-Qaeda attacked the United States by
hijacking four commercial airlines travelling from the East Coast to California. Since 9/11, prejudice
among Muslim women started because of one black history about Islam happened and most netizens
started thinking negative perceptions about Islam. Due to this black history, Muslim women especially
those who are wearing hijabs or veils face difficulty to find and get an occupation and most of them
will be rejected in the interview or on the first day of work. This is a severe issue as it can affect them,
especially single mothers and migrated women. If we can look back, they need to get a job for
supporting their long-lasting life. For instance, single mothers must pay for rent, electricity and water
bills, school fees, food, and more. We can imagine if they do not have any wages how can they
survive in developed countries such as the United States of America, German, Japan and more? In the
workplace, they are likewise entitled to the same rights as everyone else and can get a position in a
job. In a nutshell, the world should give them an opportunity to assign a job as they are also humans
that needed jobs to survive as they are worthy of human rights.
Hijab women are being discriminated against in so many things in the workplace and now we
will discuss their health from a mental context. Secondly, hijab workers are struggling to face mental
health problems and physical health problems at the workplace. Women who dress modestly
experience more prejudice since the hijab plainly reveals them to be Muslim. A woman who wears the
hijab must work considerably more to establish herself than a woman who does not or who does not
appear Muslim. Research is done by (Aziz & Ahmad, 2021) prejudice based on gender and religion
affects the mental health of Muslim women. This research can prove that hijab women face mental
health issues. For example, they experience stress, depression, low self-esteem, fear, anxiety and
more. Consequently, this discrimination leads most of hijab women to feel down as they are being
judged by their appearances. There are certain hijab women who are willing to take off their hijab or
veil to get a job or to avoid discrimination. Studies have demonstrated by (Al- Hassoun et al., 2019)
that prejudice against Muslims has been linked to psychological effects like discomfort, anxiety, and
depression. One of the research subjects experienced post-traumatic stress disorder following a
physical assault. The participant's anxiety finally became so severe that she was unable to function
and had to remove her headscarf. Prejudice and discrimination make most hijab women in dilemma
either want to take off their hijab or wear their hijab. They wear the hijab as a sign of submission to
God's order in the Quran and are scared to take off the hijab even though they know how people will
react to them. Mental health cannot take for granted as it can lead to the serious issue. Hijab women
need support from all Muslims and non-Muslims to decrease prejudice and discrimination can help
them live. In summary, hijab-wearing women have had difficulties at work due to prejudice, which
has forced them to deal with their mental health.

In conclusion, many cases of discrimination against women occur on a daily basis and never
make the local or national news. The difficulties that come with electing to wear the hijab and being a
practising Muslim in today's workplace are awful. Companies claim that wearing a hijab is a cultural
decision and that they are not required to observe cultural standards. Some women are unable to cope
with the tension, so they prefer not to wear the scarf, and they are better accepted by western culture
since they do not appear unusual. In hopes for a better working environment, this culture should be
done in moderation to respect the hijab women as they need to obey their religion, not the culture. In
the hopes of creating a better working environment, this culture should be practised with caution in
order to respect hijab women, who must follow their religion rather than their culture. All companies
need to agree with the United Nation statement about freedom of religion or belief. Article 18 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Hatred and Discrimination Based on
Religion or Belief all guarantee freedom of religion or belief. I believe that there is a chance for hijab
employees to take a place in the workplace and build a good relationship with other religions without
prejudice.
 References:

Koura, F. (2018). Navigating Islam: The Hijab and the American workplace. Societies, 8(4), 125.
https://doi.org/10.3390/soc8040125

Saher, N., Anum, A., Latafat, A., Tasmia, M., & Ameeema, M. (2021). Hijab at Workplace:
Tracing Mechanism of Discrimination in Pakistan. Psychology and Education, 58, 11157-11166.

Ghumman, S., & Ryan, A. M. (2013). Not welcome here: Discrimination towards women who wear
the Muslim headscarf. Human Relations, 66(5), 671–698.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726712469540

Abdul Aziz, N. I., & Ahmad, F. A. (2021). Mental health among Muslim career women. International
Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(12).
https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v11-i12/11863

Al-Hassoun, H., Gary, Muhtadi, T., Jones, I., & Dr.), J. M. (T. R. (2019, December 6). Why some
Muslim women take off the hijab. Broadview Magazine. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from
https://broadview.org/taking-off-the-hijab/