The Hejab Experiment

Wearing the hejab in North America has never met with the same level of outrage, emotion and fierce debate as it has in Europe. Yet since the terror attacks on the US in 2001, there have been increased attacks against women who wear the veil. So is the hejab a tool of empowerment, an instrument of repression, a symbol of cultural and religious loyalty, or a personal statement?

Never long out of the arena of public debate, the hejab is variously denounced, celebrated, revered, reviled and attacked around the world, both by those who wear it and those who don’t. And for those who don’t, the question often arises: “does wearing hejab change the way people treat you?”

That’s exactly what Canadian student and editor Anisa Rawhani wanted to find out. Inspired by a similar project carried out in the United States, she decided to wear the traditional Islamic headscarf for 18 days. And she was surprised at what she discovered. “I suspected I wouldn’t be the target of racial slurs, threats or ill-treatment. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was for the opposite to happen,” Rawhani wrote in the Journal at Queen’s University, where she is a third-year student and a copy editor. On the contrary, wearing traditional Islamic dress meant people treated her, on the whole, with more respect.

She discussed the experiment with one of her professors. Her professor suggested that in many cases people might have been overcompensating when responding to Rawhani’s headscarf, worried that they might be seen as racist—even if they didn’t harbor any particular prejudices against Muslims or minorities.

IranWire spoke with Anisa Rawhani, who is of Iranian descent, about the experiment, the “dangerous cycle of misunderstanding” and the advances Western society has made in terms of confronting legacies of prejudice and racism.

What moved you to conduct the study?

It really stemmed from wanting to better understand why women choose to cover, as well as to experience the sorts of behavior they encounter. I don’t have any family or close friends who wear the hejab, so before the experiment I haven’t had the opportunity to understand the perspective.

Did your Iranian background figure in your interest in pursuing such a study?

My Iranian background motivated me in some ways because I knew that if I chose to cover it would seem far more legitimate then if this experiment was conducted by someone who was not of Middle Eastern ancestry.

After you conducted the research one of your professors suggested that people’s behavior was a type of overcompensation, “impression management” or a process of “over-correction.” Can you say a little more this?

In general, impression management is when someone strategically attempts to manipulate and manage the impression that others have of them. We all do this to a certain degree. In the context of racism and prejudice, it means that someone who harbors prejudices will attempt to hide racist tendencies. What then happens is that they attempt to actively correct their behavior. However you can’t always gauge how great the bias is, which results in a noticeable overcompensation, and you are nicer to a member of a minority.

The thing is: correction processes and overcompensation are not things that only people who are secretly racist do. Someone who is not racist but is afraid of appearing racist may overcompensate. In the grand scheme of our racialized history, overcompensation is a sign that the level of social consciousness has risen to such an extent that racism is no longer tolerable; however, the fact that people impression manage is an indicator that racist tendencies are still alive.

Did you notice any trends in terms of how people responded to you? Were women nicer than men? Young nicer than old?

I didn’t notice anything in terms of gender; however, I would say that older members of the population were more likely to be extra nice. This is purely speculation, but this might be because younger generations are being exposed to more cultures as time passes. As we go back in history, racism had a stronger presence. Members of the older generation saw a society that was more tolerant of racism in ways that younger generations have likely never experienced. As a result younger generations may not necessarily, from a first-hand perspective, fully understand how far we’ve come. Older generations can be much more sensitive to these issues, or have less experience interacting with minority members, resulting in behavior that would seem strange.

Is Queen’s University in Ontario ethnically diverse? What about Kingston?

In comparison to other metropolitan areas in Ontario, Kingston’s population has a lower proportion of visible minorities. The majority of students are white. In my experience, despite Queen’s demographics, it’s not necessarily homogenous. There are many diverse groups on campus.

What’s your take on what it’s like for women to follow the Islamic dress code in Iran? Do you talk to women there about it, in person or online? Women studying at universities here?

I have some friends who lived in Iran until they were teenagers or young adults, and in their experience the Islamic dress code was not a choice. Contrastingly, when I interviewed women who wear that hejab at my university, they spoke on how it’s highly liberating. From this stark contrast of the hejab as a tool of liberation versus a tool of oppression, I realized that we can never generalize based on someone’s personal experience. When I speak to women who talk about the hejab as a means of becoming closer to God I think it’s a beautiful effort, but I know that this is not the case for all women.

You mentioned in your interview with TheWhig.com that people didn’t ask you why you started wearing the hejab. Why do you think this is? Is there a taboo around discussing hejab or some Muslim practices? In Ontario, Canada, and/or the West in general?

Interfaith conversations have definitely become increasingly taboo and tenuous, so a lot of people feel uncomfortable around the subject. This is really unfortunate because the only real way we can better understand religion, culture and each other is through conversation. So we’re caught in this dangerous cycle of misunderstanding, where we don’t talk to one and other, which perpetuates ignorance, which then only increases tension between groups.

What did you learn most from the interviews you conducted with covered Muslim women?

I realized how it’s of the utmost importance that we independently investigate the truth rather than act as passive vessels to information.

The Daily Mail article described you as not being a Muslim and your interview on TheWhig.com reports that you are Baha’i. In your view, does your faith influence how you behave? How do you incorporate your faith into your life?

Being a Baha’i has been the greatest influence in my life, and in many ways spurred my desire to conduct this experiment. The oneness of humanity is a fundamental teaching of my faith. This is a principle that was critical to my upbringing, and catalyzed my desire to assist in the elimination of prejudice of all kinds. This oneness of humanity extends to the oneness of religions, as having a common foundation. My faith has taught me the importance of being a unifying force not only in service, but in pursuing your education and work.

Baha’is in Iran are subject to huge discrimination and persecution. Do you follow news about what’s going on in Iran with regard to Baha’is? How does it affect you?

I follow the status of the Baha’is in Iran very closely. I don’t think there are many other things in my life that sadden me as much as the immense persecution that Baha’is face. It makes me feel immense gratitude that as a Baha’i in Canada I’m able to pursue an education. We really don’t realize what a bounty these things are. It’s also very saddening to see such a beautiful religion as Islam being misconstrued and twisted to such corrupt ends.