A qualitative study exploring the lives of disabled Muslim women in the UK

Alnamnakani, Amani 2022. A qualitative study exploring the lives of disabled Muslim women in the UK. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

Preview	PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Download (2MB) | Preview
	PDF (Cardiff University Electronic Publication Form) - Supplemental Material Restricted to Repository staff only Download (722kB)

Abstract

This thesis explores the experiences and perceptions of Muslim women living with disability in the UK. Disabled Muslim women in the UK often face multiple discriminations based on disability, gender, religious, and racial grounds. Qualitative research exploring the disabled Muslim women‘s experiences and how they perceive themselves and cope in their everyday life is limited. Addressing this gap, my study extends literature on the intersections of disability with gender, race and religion, and draws upon narrative interviews with five Muslim women living with disability in different parts of the UK. Data were analysed by a ‗narrative intersectionality‘ approach which explores how each participant experiences her multiple identities within different social contexts. The findings illustrate the complex ways in which disabled Muslim women experience various modes of everyday disablism. Much of the oppression and barriers that they experienced were socially determined, both through direct discrimination, stares and prejudicial attitudes, and indirectly through numerous instances of stigma and fear of others‘ reactions whilst in public spaces. However, the women in this study did not present themselves as victims in the face of a challenging present and uncertain future. Instead, each one of them portrayed herself as a source of ‗‘help‘‘ (Samia), ‗‘fighter‘‘ (Nadia), ‗‘activist‘‘ (Kinza), ‗‘successful‘‘ (Farah), and ‗‘friendly‘‘ (Zara) woman who resists and overcomes daily social challenges to recreate a better world for herself, other disabled Muslim women, and the next generation of disabled people. Some of the women found creative ways to redefine, reconstruct, or celebrate their unique identity as disabled Muslim women in the UK, that otherwise would be invisible or perceived negatively in their social world.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Healthcare Sciences
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	4 May 2023
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2024 04:18
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/159216

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item