Muslim, Asian and Latina women are the main victims of xenophobic attacks in the United States, in the context of the increase in hate crimes against immigrants.
Experts convened by Ethnic Media Services They claim that this is not a new phenomenon, but rather has historical roots.
“Hate crimes against Muslims predate the september 11“Women (76.7%) are more likely than men (58.6%) to experience Islamophobia,” explains Basima Sisemore, a researcher at the Global Justice Program at the Othering & Belonging Institute.
One of the main reasons why Muslim women are attacked is because they are more easily identifiable and therefore become easy prey. That is, their clothing, adornments, hijab, immediately distinguish them.
“This culture is perceived as being against Western ideals, and there is also the idea that Muslims are against democratic values. But what are Western ideals or democratic values?” Sisemore asks.
The research of the Othering & Belonging Institute’s Global Justice Program addresses issues related to Islamophobia, human rights, and exclusionary practices that disenfranchise immigrants, refugees, and communities of color.
Elsadig Elsheikh, the director of the Programme, explains that “Islamophobia makes it difficult for Muslims to relate to other Muslims. This is due to persecution: younger people hide their religious identity. More than 9 out of 10 women (91.8%) censor their speech or actions for fear of people’s response or reaction, and attract violence against them.”
The media contributes to the idea of “otherness” by reinforcing the premise that Muslim women are “left behind” compared to their male counterparts. How can we report on Muslim culture correctly? It is important to allow Muslims to speak for themselves. The same goes for all ethnicities and cultures, the media must allow groups to speak for themselves.
In the case of the West, Elsheikh explains, “there are a multiplicity of countries and ethnicities. There are Arabs who are not Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs.”
In the case of Asian women, according to Helen Zia, activist and author of the book Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, the “rise in hate crimes against Asian American women is clearly linked to COVID-19 and intensified by our former president. Of nine thousand incidents in the past year, more than 60 percent have been against women, especially Asian girls.”
The latest reports of attacks against Asian women are actually nothing new. It is a problem that has been largely ignored and made invisible.
Why are women attacked?
“Those who carry out racist attacks against people of color have always claimed that the victims are “less than human,” so women are even more expendable… therefore there is a double, triple jeopardy for them.
“They are also less likely to report, because they feel diminished and blamed. They may even face stigmatisation when reporting. Women of colour are not treated well by social institutions. They are not taken seriously and they are not treated with respect,” Zia explains.
According to experts at the EMS-convened conference, the sexualization of women of color plays a role in the incidents.
“Penthouse published a photo of a young Asian woman in BSDM; two months later a little Asian girl was found dead in the same position that the magazine had shown the model in. In the case of the little girl, she had been raped, tortured, tied up, hung and lynched,” Zia said.
Something similar happens with Latin women: they are hypersexualized.
“Migrant women in particular have faced many forms of violence from their countries of origin and seek refuge here. Many have been victims of sex trafficking, and sometimes fall prey to human trafficking here,” explains Irene de Barraicua, Director of Operations and Public Relations Manager of Líderes Campesinas, an association that represents the culmination of decades of work by women farm workers.
Líderes Campesinas provides these activists with a support system against domestic violence, sexual harassment, opportunities to coordinate their work across the state, and has created collectives so that campesinas can become agents of change and be a more effective unified voice.
“Latina women are sexualized, and fear of deportation and retaliation makes them more susceptible to violence and sexual abuse. In addition, a high number of women living in poverty are often the first to be laid off when there are workforce cuts, as happened during the pandemic. In addition, they cannot seek care due to institutionalized violence. It is a form of modern slavery,” said de Barraicua.
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