“Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland
Belonging and identity are fundamental human needs, with positive experiences closely correlated with affirmative mental health. This paper investigates how these concepts are experienced by Muslim women in Switzerland, a minority group targeted in the political campaign nicknamed the “burka ban.” T...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Europe's Journal of Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.10623 |
| _version_ | 1797320597846360064 |
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| author | Rachael Loxston Liza Jachens |
| author_facet | Rachael Loxston Liza Jachens |
| author_sort | Rachael Loxston |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Belonging and identity are fundamental human needs, with positive experiences closely correlated with affirmative mental health. This paper investigates how these concepts are experienced by Muslim women in Switzerland, a minority group targeted in the political campaign nicknamed the “burka ban.” There were two research questions: How do Muslim women construct their identity in Switzerland? How do Muslim women experience a sense of belonging in Switzerland? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants, and data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: religion as a public versus private identity, Islam and dressing modestly as expressions of gendered liberation, sharing a sense of Swiss identity through sameness, challenging dominant representations, impression management, and religious and cultural identity as psychological strengths. Participants used several strategies to construct a positive identity and experience belonging in response to negative representation. Findings are summarized in the form of recommendations for counselors working in Switzerland. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:45:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fdfe4278fc474c2b9e5626db20c866f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1841-0413 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:45:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Europe's Journal of Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-fdfe4278fc474c2b9e5626db20c866f62024-02-08T10:55:42ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for PsychologyEurope's Journal of Psychology1841-04132023-11-0119430832010.5964/ejop.10623ejop.10623“Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in SwitzerlandRachael Loxston0Liza Jachens1Psychology, Sociology and Professional Counselling, Webster University, Geneva, SwitzerlandCentre for Organizational Health and Development, Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, United KingdomBelonging and identity are fundamental human needs, with positive experiences closely correlated with affirmative mental health. This paper investigates how these concepts are experienced by Muslim women in Switzerland, a minority group targeted in the political campaign nicknamed the “burka ban.” There were two research questions: How do Muslim women construct their identity in Switzerland? How do Muslim women experience a sense of belonging in Switzerland? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants, and data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: religion as a public versus private identity, Islam and dressing modestly as expressions of gendered liberation, sharing a sense of Swiss identity through sameness, challenging dominant representations, impression management, and religious and cultural identity as psychological strengths. Participants used several strategies to construct a positive identity and experience belonging in response to negative representation. Findings are summarized in the form of recommendations for counselors working in Switzerland.https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.10623counselingmuslim womengendered islamophobiaidentitybelongingswitzerland |
| spellingShingle | Rachael Loxston Liza Jachens “Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland Europe's Journal of Psychology counseling muslim women gendered islamophobia identity belonging switzerland |
| title | “Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland |
| title_full | “Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland |
| title_fullStr | “Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland |
| title_short | “Liberty Can Be for You One Thing, and for Me Something Different”: Muslim Women's Experiences of Identity and Belonging in Switzerland |
| title_sort | liberty can be for you one thing and for me something different muslim women s experiences of identity and belonging in switzerland |
| topic | counseling muslim women gendered islamophobia identity belonging switzerland |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.10623 |
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