Intimate Partner Violence: Two Case Studies of Divided Loyalties of Muslim Women

Copel, Linda Carman

Tuesday, 1 November 2011: 10:00 AM

Linda Carman Copel, PhD, RN, PMHCNS, BC, FAPA
College of Nursing, Villanova University, Villanova, PA

Learning Objective 1: Explain the divided loyalties that Muslim women living in the United States may encounter between maintaining cultural traditions and experiencing a westernized lifestyle.

Learning Objective 2: Explain how the influence of postmodern westernization may be contributed to intimate partner violence for two Muslim women living in the United States.

Muslim women temporarily residing in the United States sometimes have divided loyalties between maintaining their cultural traditions and experiencing a different lifestyle. The dilemma of rejecting or embracing Western culture can be an antecedent for intimate partner violence (IPV). Two case studies describe the IPV experienced by Muslim women living in the United States. The first woman’s preference was to wear the hijab, thus violating her spouse’s mandate for her to remove it, triggering IPV. The other woman’s preference was to remove the hijab against her partner’s wishes, resulting in IPV. The purposes of exploring these case studies were to address factors influencing the Muslim woman’s divided loyalties between maintaining cultural traditions and experiencing a different lifestyle, and to determine if rejection or acceptance of Western culture was an antecedent to IPV. The questions guiding the study were (1) What is the process of the Muslim woman’s decision to uncover after beginning a life in the United States? (2) What is the process of the Muslim woman’s decision to remain covered after beginning a life in the United States? (3) Can the woman’s rejection of Western culture serve as an antecedent to IPV? (4) Can the woman’s acceptance of Western culture serve as an antecedent to IPV? The case study method (Yin, 2002) was used to analyze the data. Common themes constructed were conflict related to covering/uncovering, lack of preparation for the cultural shift, the wife’s desire and actions to please her husband, the wife’s disobedience as an explanation for violence, and the family influence on decision making. The conflict between the traditional sociocultural context and the influence of postmodern westernization contributed to IPV. These case studies generate further research topics on the acculturation process, the coping and communication processes between Muslim couples, and the concept of divided loyalties.

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