Media as an Instrument of Reflection or Distortion of the Real Life Problems of Muslim Women in India

Abstract

The relationship between women and media in terms of the portrayal of the former in the latter has been a contested one. It has been an area of interest and scrutiny for academicians in general and feminists in particular. However, despite being laden with the xenophobic undercurrent, Muslim women’s depiction has not been addressed with much academic curiosity and seriousness. Muslim women per se represent a category defined by the intersection of gendered and Islamophobic vulnerabilities. The disadvantage of Muslim women has also cropped into media, with representation dominated by voiceless and docile images, primarily seen as a victim of her religion and the men folk. In the Indian scenario, the trend is quite the same with women from this marginalised community seen as victims of Muslim personal law, practices such as Hijab and polygamy, and immediate prey of the conservative and patriarchal Muslim men, which is the popular stereotype surrounding the latter. This depiction at the theoretical level can be understood as a manifestation of Edward Said’s concept of orientalism, which defines the othering of Muslims at various levels, including the institution of media perpetuating the anti-Muslim bias. Within this larger framework of orientalism, othering and intersectionality, this article seeks to the inconsistency in the actual issues faced by women of the community and those defined in the television news media.