Hijab at Workplace: Tracing Mechanism of Discrimination in Pakistan

Abstract

Interestingly, the recent debate on the hijab has made it more popular among Muslim women across the world; similarly, a trend of wearing hijab has been increasing in Pakistan among working women of all ages (Anwar, 2015). As a good number of young women are attaining professional degrees and joining professions previously known as male-oriented professions (Saher, 2010; Saher, Matloob, Ali and Batool, 2014) while wearing Hijab (Awan, 2016); consistently the phenomenon of hijab in the work place is a relevant topic.  Despite the prevailing practices of women joining careers and making their way ahead in their careers with hijab/scarf, there is no significant published research available depicting the experiences of women wearing hijab at workplace. This study is an effort to address this lacuna between practice and literature and contribute to body of literature.