Sample Essay on Muslim American Women and Their Role in the US Society

Introduction

The interconnected nature of social groups leads to the formation of dominant and non-dominant categories of persons. The dominant categories are persons in the society that have the power and ability to influence acceptable values. Muslim American women are a group of related social groups who are non-dominant in society. The Muslim is a minority group in American society where the Christian religion is dominant. The paper seeks to discuss the issues affecting Muslim American women. The Muslim American women are shrouded in darkness and rendered invisible not only by the external society but by the immediate family members and friends. Some of the discrimination issues lead to loss of jobs, involve the denial of the right to practice their religion fully, and rejection from social groups or professional teams (Almaki et al., 2016). Muslim American young girls are on the verge of confusion as the majority of them desire to adapt to modern and western-based ways of life (Hametner et al., 2020). One may also argue that the government and society to protect and enhance Muslim American women's quality of life do less. Although many would assume that Muslim American women live a better life than their peers do in other regions, their thoughts are nullified by the experiences shared by Muslim American women.

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The Intersection of Muslim American Women

In most Muslim societies, women are considered disadvantaged; they are mostly valued as objects for use by men and have lesser value than the young boys (Abdel-Salam et al., 2019). The religion denies women the right to enter the mosque and even argues that women should show high respect to their husbands. The dominant Muslim countries, such as the UAE, selectively exclude women from leadership positions, thus rendering them powerless. People of the Muslim faith also heavily adopt these cultures in other countries. They tend to display similar values for women as those showcased by dominant Muslim countries (Abdel-Salam et al., 2019). Muslim American women often find themselves at the intersection of bias against women and people of the Islam religion. As a result, they may suffer from the denial of fundamental rights to the denial of opportunities. Since this group is a minority group, there are fewer policies and efforts to rectify their place and society's challenges.

The Challenges Faced by Muslim American Women

Muslim Americans who are also women are repeatedly denied opportunities to perform extemporary well. They also have to show an extemporary ability to perform compared to their peers, even in higher education institutions (Almak et al., 2016). The author tells the story of a young African American Muslim girl who was very talented in basketball, but it took time before the basketball club leaders could select her (Rost-Banik, 2017). The leaders could also not imagine a young girl in a hijab performing extemporary well in sports.

Apart from the stereotypic nature of the American society, culture and religious grounds also hinder the performance of the Muslim Americans who are also women. The Muslim religion considers women to be of good character when they are reserved. The thought is that Muslim women should obey their husbands and parents without questioning their commands. The mother of the young girl described in the book feels that her daughter playing basketball will expose her sexual beauty, and that is against the Muslim culture (Rost-Banik, 2017). Muslim women in America are exposed to a different lifestyle and culture mode than those living in Muslim-dominated regions, such as the UAE; therefore, they have to deal with resistance from their parents and husbands, especially when considering undertaking a unique role.

American Muslim women are not an exemption from political discrimination. Political leaders, law enforcers, and security personal have always targeted Muslim society (Dana et al., 2019). American Muslim women also face unique forms of discrimination that term them as terrorists or people unfit into different social groups built not based on religion (Haner et al., 2020). Although there are various laws enacted to protect Muslim American women, society infringes some of these laws. The political class, law enforcers, and security personal have always targeted the Muslim society (Dana et al., 2019). Muslims in America have the right to practice their religion fully.

Some public institutions, such as schools and government offices, continue to deny this group of persons the chance to practice their religion. In school, young girls from the Muslim religion have been denied the right to wear hijabs (Fani et al., 2020). Public offices and especially the police department also deny women the right to wear the hijab. The hijab is an essential garment for women practicing the Muslim religion (Fani et al., 2020). The attire is worn to showcase humility and privacy, and it is more meaningful when the woman is in the presence of strange men (Fani et al., 2020). Therefore, the hijab is very important to Muslim women as it represents their submission to their creator. It is crucial for all Muslim women to have it on, especially when they are close to the mosque or in their prayer section in the dominant Muslim countries. America is considered an example state globally for its adoption of freedom of worship as a fundamental liberty.

The latest company on the look for stereotyping Muslim women is Netflix. Society played a part in stereotyping Muslim women with the help of media networks (Fokkens et al., 2018). Muslim society and its supporters raised concerns about the representation of Muslim women in the Spanish drama series. The series features a girl threatened with an explosion if she does not remove her hijab in class; the girl later begins to wear the hijab only on her way to and from school (Alagteaa, 2020).

In the homeland, Muslim women characters are considered as US assets or defined as terrorists. Some of the shows present Muslim women's lives as people who are oppressed and seek freedom when they move to countries such as the US. The young girls are victims of peer influence in schools due to the pressure created by such scripts that consider every Muslim woman to be on the run (Brown et al., 2017). Society needs to understand that not every Muslim woman feels oppressed for wearing a hijab or by her religion. Young girls in Muslim American society end up ruining their life as they take up efforts to fit into the western culture (Brown et al., 2017). Therefore, one may argue that American media production companies such as Netflix and homeland have a significant impact on influencing the thoughts that society has on the lives of Muslim American women.

Muslim American women living in poverty face more problems than other minority Americans living in depressive financial conditions. The statistics indicate that 45% of Muslim society has an annual income of less than $30,000 (Vu et al., 2016). The salary estimate places the society on the poverty line in the American economy. The low-income family background leads to lesser opportunities for young girls and women who struggle to attain education. Due to the poverty status, Muslim women, just like other women in poverty, may lack insurance health insurance and lack access to proper medication. As a result, this group of women may delay seeking health care services (Vu et al., 2016). The American Muslim women's families may also lack enough resources to seek healthcare services because healthcare is among the most expensive necessities in America.

Counterarguments to Challenges Faced Due to the Intersection Factors

Some authors argue that Muslim American women do not face the challenges they face because of their religion, but most of the issues relate to all other problems women face in the world. It is essential to understand an elite group of Muslim American women who do not go through the discussed challenges. Social status is, therefore, the primary determinant of the challenges that an individual goes through. The philosophical and ethical problems that individuals face in their workplace, careers, and perspectives of their social life relate to their social status (Mujtaba et al., 2016). Being poor or being an immigrant, or even belonging to a specific social group make other determinants of the quality of life lived by an individual.

Muslim American women belonging to other non-dominant social groups such as women of color, women in lower social classes face higher levels of challenges than those in the dominant social groups such as the white society and the elite. Being a Muslim woman of color also places one at a higher risk to people they depend on because they face high levels of hostility (Wang et al., 2020). American women living in estates considered danger zones due to high levels of crime are more likely to be victims of police brutality than those in elite societies.

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Solutions to Improving Muslim American Women Lives

Muslim society needs to stop emphasizing women's dresses and sex segregation. Some of society's stereotypes are based on the ideologies borrowed from the practitioners of the religion. Religion is based on the ideology that the place of women is in the home. This stereotype continues to be adopted by many. It is the reason why the performance ability of Muslim women and young girls is undervalued.

The legislators, institutions, and government-based facilities must also understand that no law is bigger or smaller than the other. The psychological effect of such torture affects Muslim American women and is equal to other denied rights in the dominant Muslim regions (Haner et al., 2020). Denying Muslim women the right to practice their religion through their dress code is insulting and hurts them.

The media production companies such as Netflix and homeland should also reconsider the representation strategy employed on Muslim American women. Other than having the Muslim society represented as terrorists, government assets, or people seeking freedom, the production companies should begin to feature characters that address real issues (Ward et al., 2020). The black lives matter movement has been among the few organizations fighting to protect Muslim Americans' rights. The adoption of the idea is based on the thought that the women and men of color who are of the Muslim religion are at higher risk than their peers belonging to the white race.

Conclusion

It is essential to understand that being a Muslim American woman is not unusual or unique from being a Muslim woman born or living in Saudi Arabia. Some researchers argue that Muslim American women have a better life than women in dominant Muslim regions, which could be true but still not real. Legal institutions and society need to develop a strategy that can help reduce stereotypes held against Muslim American women. The level of torture in these avenues is all different. In American society, Muslims are a minority group, and the stereotype held is that the practitioners of the religion are terrorists and thus treated as so. The mere definition of faith as a terrorist gang affects their psychology. The denial of job opportunities and the right to practice the religion is also equal to the denial of education and forced marriages for other Muslim girls in other regions.