A Comparison of the Status of Women Within Two Ethnic Groups

It is not a secret that throughout the history women suffered an underprivileged social status. This particularly applies to the Muslim society, where even up to this day women are often thought of as having no soul (Kaleem). With the change of American immigration policy, the people of predominantly non-White origins started to pour into this country, thus contributing to the creation of multicultural society that we immensely enjoy nowadays. Yet, it was being noticed that unlike White immigrants, who were willing to become an essential part of American society, the people of different racial background preferred to remain within the boundaries of their cultural niche, often creating a society within the society. Therefore, the social status of women within such closed ethnic enclaves has not changed much from what they were in their native countries.

In this paper I will analyze different social status of women of two different races: Muslim and Asian.

Nearly one in five people in the world today are Muslim. A diverse community of believers is spread around the globe. More than fifty countries have Muslim-majority populations, while other groups of believers are clustered in minority communities on almost every continent. It is hard to determine the exact figure of the Muslim population in the United States. The reason is that there are three categories of Muslims: immigrants, converts, and those that are born to the first two groups. However, there is an estimate that varies from 5 to 8 million, of which about approximately half are women (Islam 101). There are 5.3 million females in U.S. of Asian background; this comprises 3.7% of American female population (The Health).

In Islam, women are expected to get married. It is considered an extremely sacred and important union. The marriages are arranged and are ironically more successful than an average marriage in the United States. Dowry is set according to the financial standing of the bridegroom and with the consent of both parties. As a wife, the woman has many responsibilities (Marriage in Islam). However, all of them are in some way interconnected and revolve around her husband, children, and maintenance of a successful household (Kaleem). As Muslims immigrate to America, they strongly maintain their beliefs, and continue to live and follow their rituals as closely as possible.

Majority of Asian families are based around an exceptionally strong kinship. The Asian community incorporates a large number of different religions. Therefore, their customs should not and can not be generalized. There are some that still believe in arranged marriages, but they tend to not be as authoritarian about it as the Muslims are. With each new generation that grows up in America, Asians tend to adapt to the way of life in their new country and somewhat loosen the grip on their customs. In US, Asian women are not as pressured into marriage and are strongly encouraged to pursue their education.

Due to that fact, 35% of Asian women in the US complete at least four years of college (Daff). Asian women with bachelor's degrees actually make more money than the white women with their bachelor's. It is believed that there are several reasons for this discrepancy. The Asian women are going into engineering and business whereas the whites are going into the lower paying education and journalism. Also, the median Asian woman is older and further along her career path than the median white woman in the United States (Joyner). On the other hand, religious Muslim women are only expected to fulfill their wifely duties and let the husbands worry about everything else. The Koran states that "He should provide for all her reasonable needs" (Kaleem).

Unlike Asian women, Muslim women are obligated to wear hijabs that cover their whole body with the exception of the face and hands. They only cover themselves in front of men who are not their direct relatives to prevent indecent acts or thoughts (Noor). Sadly, wearing a hijab makes Muslim women in the United States an easy target for racism. That is especially true now after the post September 11th occurrence. Also, unlike Asian women, thousands of Muslim women go through an enormously painful female circumcision. However, in a way, female circumcision is connected with more of a cultural practice rather than Islam influence itself (Islamic Law). That is why we don't hear a lot about it in our country.

They are oppressed, abused, and uneducated. These are just some of the most common stereotypes perpetrated by the mass media to describe Muslim women. Media is an integral part of our life on the daily basis. It is able to reach us almost anywhere. It may impose its negative views of Islam on us though its visual or auditory presentations. Unfortunately, negative depictions of Muslim women are often the only once available (Muhammad). "The standard portrayal of the Muslim woman in the media is one of weakness and submission -- an object of pity. She has little education and no creativity. She is colorless, faceless and nameless. Exhibiting little free will and submissive to the males in her life, she is, in a word, oppressed. Deceptive photos along with verbal or written insinuations assist in crafting this illusion" (Muhammad). After the tragedy of 9/11, Muslim women, who were very visible targets, endured harassment in public and at their places of employment. Many were concern for their safety, and for good reason. Hate crimes, attacks on Muslim businesses, and open discrimination in the workplace all reflected the strong viewpoint in the false representations of Muslims and Islam. Encouragingly, Muslim women are approaching this issue individually and collectively, and their voices are being heard. With the support of some Islamic establishments, local business people, and college students, an organized rally and march to present the truth about Muslim women to the media was formed. This event led to the creation of the Muslim Women's Political Action Committee that now has a very active role in making sure Muslim women are represented appropriately (Ahmad).

Similarly, the media has its stereotypes of Asians. In shows and movies they are portrayed mostly as restaurant workers, grocers, martial artists, gangsters, faith healers, laundry workers, and prostitutes. This completely misrepresents the diversity of the Asian American work force in the US today. Also, Asian women are often portrayed as exotic, subservient, compliant, industrious, and eager to please (Asian Stereotypes). This just adds a trace of sexism into the mix of all the stereotypes. The Asian American women, as well as Muslim American, are extremely underrepresented in network television. They are missing from the major TV networks such