CONDITIONS, CONTEXT, AND OUTCOMES OF PRACTICING VEIL (HIJAB) AMONG PAKISTANI WOMEN

Abstract

The present research aims to develop a theoretical framework around the phenomenon of hijab and has placed hijab in the context of Pakistan, where there is a multiplicity of dress code and hijab has replaced the traditional forms of covering in the last decade. Hijab in this study has been defined in two forms, niqab (face veiling) and head scarf, and compares these forms to other types of clothing worn in Pakistan. The research comprises two studies. Study 1 involves five focus group discussions with women and one with men, conducted at different university campuses. Grounded theory analysis was employed under the paradigm of conditions, context, and consequences. The analysis led to the emergence of three main categories: religious commitment, social/environmental adjustment, and psychological satisfaction. The three seemed to converge on a core theme named psychological satisfaction. Based on these findings, research questions were designed for Study 2. These questions related to causal conditions, religiousness, well being, sexual harassment experiences, religious and family background, and ethnic identity of the hijabwearing women and women wearing other types of dress. Study 2 was a quantitative survey carried out in two phases. Phase I involved selection and adaptation of instruments, try out, and pilot study. Four self-report measure, namely, Religiousness Measure (Sethi & Seligman, 1993), Psychological Well Being scales (Urdu version; Ansari, 2010), Sexual Harassment Experience Questionnaire (Iqbal & Kamal, 2001), and Social Desirability Scale (Stöber, 2001), were chosen. Standard procedures were adopted for adaptation of instruments. Try out was conducted with thirty three women (mean age = 25.79 years, SD = 6.84). Changes were made according to the feedback obtained from this pretesting. Pilot study was performed with 107 women (mean age = 24.55, SD = 5.77). Psychometric analysis showed that the internal reliabilities of the instruments were acceptable, but not satisfactory. A short analysis was done with this data regarding the research questions, but was not interpreted due to small sample size. Phase II of Study 2 was the final study. This was done with 511 participants, wearing five types of dress and belonged to various urban parts of the country. Their mean age was 24.90 years (SD = 5.70). Psychometric analysis mentioned that the scale reliabilities were quite satisfactory. Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed with newly adapted Religiousness Measure. It was shown to have four factors instead of originally three components. Results regarding the major research questions showed that the hijab-wearing women adopt their dress on religious and protective needs, whereas other dress groups exercise their personal will to choose their dress. Social desirability did not co-vary with the outcome variables. The hijab-wearing women were significantly higher on religiousness as compared to other dress groups. However, they did not significantly differ from other dress groups on psychological well being. The face-veiling and the head-covering women reported significantly less harassment experiences as compared to other women. However, consistency and continuity of dress practice had interaction effects for well being and sexual harassment, though less strongly. Family dress, religious affiliation, and sub-cultural identity had a significant relationship with the dress of the participants. The theoretical framework presented for future research suggests that social psychological factors related to hijab should be given more attention instead of political discourse on hijab.