What Muslim Women Face Every Day at Work (The Wire)

Education is offered as a silver bullet to help marginalised communities but it doesn’t help end the discrimination they face. Several women from the minority community have underlined that they experience hiring bias and harassment because of their religion.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

By Mahima Jain

New Delhi: A master’s degree in management did not prepare 24-year-old Sara Khan* for the routine bigotry at her first job in Hyderabad, at one of the Big Four companies. 

Recently, a senior executive said they wished hardline Hindutva leaders succeed two-time Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They will “put [some] people in place,” she was told, referring to minorities like Muslims.

Education is offered as a silver bullet to help marginalised communities but it doesn’t help end the discrimination they face. Although the forms of discrimination change, it still persists. Like Khan, Muslim women with jobs in India’s booming corporate sectors are grappling with increasing Islamophobia at their workplaces and frequently encounter snide remarks and systemic discrimination. 

Several women from the minority community have underlined that they experience hiring bias, toxic bosses and harassment because of their religion. “An Indian Muslim woman faces challenges with each of the three things that make up this phrase,” explains Ruha Shadab, founder and director of Led By Foundation.

This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.

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