Muslim women are a minority within a minority, being subjected to three levels of discrimination: being a woman, a Muslim woman, and a Muslim woman wearing clothing that identifies with the Muslim religion.
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
Liberation for Muslim women has been measured by the degree to which their dress codes conform to standards acceptable in the West. Many Westerners have assumed that it is not the choice for some women to adopt a style of dress concurrent with their Islamic faith. This idea takes away the agency of individual Muslim women who chose to wear the hijab and modest clothing. In addition to such stereotyping, Islamic dress in the UK has also become negatively associated by some elements of the UK media with immigration concerns and terrorism. The association has changed from religious to political, and when a woman wears a hijab she becomes a visible Muslim and becomes a target for Islamophobia. The barriers in social integration have therefore been heightened by the choice to identify as Muslim.
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
By showing a different social representation, the images in this project create a dialogue within the Western community. The women featured agreed to be photographed in their work or leisure space as they were keen to overcome stereotypes and show how they integrate into society. The shoots also involved interviewing the women to personalise and amplify their experience, both for them and for the audience. The quotes selected speak directly to the audience, inviting them to question their assumptions.
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
KHAN, Ayesha, The Everyday © Ayesha Khan
Ayesha Khan is a Welsh photographer who uses her creative practice to tackle head-on the misrepresentation of Muslim women within the British media. As Ayesha’s background is half-Welsh and half-Pakistani, she understands each culture and the differences between them. She is also a Muslim who wears hijab, and as a result has been able to identify some key issues concerned with stereotyping and Islamophobia whilst growing up in the South Wales Valleys. A central theme within her photographic work is the depiction of powerful Muslim women, as a direct response to negative Muslim stereotypes as perceived in media imagery of all kinds.