The veil under attack

Abstract

In the current climate, the veil is the key visual symbol of Islam. The veiled female body is central in the construction of discourses on the difference of the Muslim as ‘other’ with the non-Muslim ‘self’. The effect is that the multiple meanings of the veil are erased, and only one stands out: the veil as a symbol of gender inequality. This article explores the ways in which the visibility of the veil in the public gaze marks its wearers as particularly vulnerable to expressions of Islamophobia in a non-Muslim country such as the United Kingdom. Whilst the concept of Islamophobia is often understood in gender-neutral ways, evidence suggests that there are gendered dimensions to manifestations of Islamophobia in the public sphere. Stereotypes about veiled women’s subservience coupled with the assumption that their Muslim identity cannot be mistaken, denied or concealed, renders veiled women ‘ideal subjects’ against whom to enact anti-Muslim hostility. For victims, their families and the wider Muslim community, Islamophobic victimization can have significant and ongoing consequences. The article concludes that increased awareness of the gendered facets of Islamophobia unveils the targeted – yet hidden, often invisible – victimization of veiled Muslim women in public, as this victimization tends to fall under the criminal justice ‘radar’.