The “Halo Effect” suggests that people impart positive traits to others based on initial impressions of characteristics such as physical attractiveness. In Muslim communities, this phenomenon may be extrapolated to the positive evaluation of women who wear the Islamic headscarf (or hijab). The present study focuses on the “Hijab Effect” and its impact on the relationship between Islamic religiosity and perceived attractiveness. South Asian Muslim women living in the United States and the United Arab Emirates were surveyed. Hijabis rated themselves as more religious than nonhijabis. Additionally, Muslim women, regardless of their personal hijab status, rated hijabis as more attractive than nonhijabis. Results further indicated that religiosity, controlling for personal hijab status, did not have an independent influence on perceptions of hijabis in either the United States or the United Arab Emirates. However, in the United Arab Emirates, women who were more religious did rate nonhijabis as less attractive. Discussion of the analysis focuses on the possible factors involved in the complex relationship between Muslim women and the hijab.

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The impact of the Islamic headscarf (hijab) on employment opportunities in Western contexts has been explored in a number of studies, but there is limited information on the topic as it applies to Islamic mainstream contexts. The current study explores the impact of the hijab on perceptions of employability among South Asian Muslim women in the United States (US) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Perceptions of women that wear hijab (hijabis) and women that do not wear hijab (non-hijabis) were analyzed. Both hijabis and non-hijabis perceived that wearing hijab in the US lowered the chances of applicants receiving a job offer. In the UAE, however, the results were mixed with non-hijabis perceiving that hijab has a negative effect on employability and hijabis perceiving the opposite effect. Implications of the results are discussed.

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