Self-stigmatization is defined as the doubts that arise mainly because of an individual’s competence, continuous selection of a less demanding task, adverse impact, and a decreased interest in the position in question (Eijberts & Roggeband, 2016). Over the recent past, Muslim women have faced challenges associated with stigma, abuse, and depression. In most cases, stigmatization has always been linked to negative impacts on society. It also affects migrant women as they are exposed to prejudice and discrimination in their day-to-day lives. People also believe that ladies are not independent because they do not have their own opinions. This paper is going to explore and look at the connections between internalized stigma, exposure to physical abuse, and depression in Muslim women. The paper will also provide further insights into the way stigmatization has been conceptualized theoretically.
In the aftermath of 9/11 and the internal turmoil, the author and filmmaker Theo Van Gogh had been murdered by the second-generation Moroccan man. The Islamic culture was also considered a significant threat or obstacle for the Turkish and Moroccan migrants’ integration in the Dutch. It is also clear that Muslim migrants were regarded as dangerous when it came to issues concerning politics and public debates (Eijberts & Roggeband, 2016). Nonetheless, one of the major topics being criticized by Muslim society is the position of women in society, mainly because they are considered deviant and deficient.
Over the recent years, women in the labor industry have found it challenging to get decent jobs working in well-known organizations. This is because people still perceive their knowledge and expertise as insufficient despite having met all the required qualifications, and it is one of the primary reasons why most women across the globe lack the courage to go to big organizations to seek jobs. According to Eijberts and Roggeband (2016), stigma has more negative impacts than positive ones. However, the stigmatized individuals can adopt different techniques to help them overcome social stigmatization.
One of the major strategies to curb stigmatization is concealing. This approach states that the stigmatized individual has to hide their status or identity. In the past, most Afro-American individuals with the light-skin complexion used to escape stigmatization through passing as Anglo-Americans (Eijberts & Roggeband, 2016). However, this strategy has several weaknesses, as concealing is only effective when stigma is not easily detected or invisible. Nonetheless, concealing, consolidating, compensating, circumventing, and confronting are other techniques that can be used to mitigate stigmatization and change how some groups or minorities are perceived in society.
It is clear that Dutch politics, media, and the public or society negatively view Muslim women. They are involved in spreading the negative publicity as they considered them old-fashioned, uneducated, and traditional because they were wearing headscarves (Eijberts & Roggeband, 2016). Therefore, the relevant stakeholders and the public generally need to develop more strategies and techniques towards ensuring that the existing stigma amongst Muslim women is successfully eliminated by using or developing safe spaces. Creating safe places is the most effective strategy to curb stigmatization, especially for Migrant women’s organizations.
In conclusion, stigmatization levels of migrant women in Turkey and Morocco have increased as the women are perceived to be backward, dependent, and passive, an issue that has played a vital role in impacting them negatively. Therefore, the relevant stakeholders and the public generally need to develop more effective strategies to curb stigmatization and ensure that Muslim migrant women are treated equally and given equal opportunities in all sectors.
Reference
Eijberts, M., & Roggeband, C. (2016). Are you stuck with the stigma? How Muslim migrant women in the Netherlands deal – individually and collectively – with negative stereotypes. Ethnicities, 16(1), 130-153.