The representation of Muslim women as speakers of English

Muslim women have often been represented as silent, oppressed, and voiceless. Their perceived silence stands in stark contrast to their heightened visibility in Western countries, where the hijab is perceived as a key icon of their Muslim identity. This research project builds on this stereotype to examine the representation of Muslim women as speakers of English. The research asks how the English language proficiency of Muslim women is discussed in the media; what language and gender ideologies are implicit in these representations; and how these representations are linked to social inequality and citizenship policies.

To this end, the study offers a critical multimodal discourse analysis of a language ideological debate in the United Kingdom in 2016. Data consist of media coverage of and responses to the then British Prime Minister David Cameron’s position piece about migrant Muslim women in The Times in 2016, which became the prelude for a change in spousal visa regulations.

Findings show that Muslim women are stereotyped as non-speakers of English through the manipulation of census data. Their supposed lack of English is discursively constructed as an index of their supposed oppression, complicity in the threat of extremism emanating from their sons, and limited participation in the labour force. In a next step, English is constructed as a panacea that solves all these problems and is conducive to women’s liberation, a protection against the radicalisation of the next generation, and as means to become economically independent. This logic serves to justify a harsh language testing for spousal visa applicants.

The thesis makes at least four significant contributions. First, it demonstrates how the stereotype of Muslim women’s voicelessness is extended to deny their English language proficiency. Second, stereotypes about Muslim women have long justified political interventions in third world countries. This research shows that they are also mobilised to justify internal political agendas in Western countries. Third, the study contributes to language ideological and raciolinguistic research by examining their intersectionality with gender. Fourth, language testing for citizenship is shown to be normalised in everyday discourses before it becomes enshrined in legislation. Therefore, greater social scrutiny of such discourses is necessary before they become policy.