Muslim Women Living in Brazil - Challenges for the Practice of a Culturally Sensitive Medicine

Abstract

The aim of this study was to focus on the experiences of Muslim women in Western society, their perception of cultural and religious differences. To this end, the Qualitative Clinical Method was used. We applied semi-directed interviews to eight Muslim women living in Brazil. The construction of the sample utilized the snowball technique, closed, according to the criterion of the saturation data. The categories emerging from the interviews were analyzed and interpreted in light of the psychosocial theories. The interviewees were interested in promoting visibility to religious issues that permeate the life of Muslim people, pointing out the ignorance of the Western world on these issues. These women had pointed that they were discriminated against in many ways, especially regarding the use of the veil; they questioned the Western idea of subdued woman, presented as a counterpoint to the submission to the rigid standards of beauty and health that permeate the Western world. We also discussed general aspects of the Islamic culture, including sexuality, marriage, parenting, and relationships with the population of a country with different customs and traditions from their culture. The impact of the events of September 11 was evident on the lives of these women in the promotion of fear and social exclusion. We concluded that these women seek conciliation in their way of living, without denying their religion, in a world whose values are often diametrically opposed. Although, at the beginning of this study, we aimed at raising issues that concern Muslim women living in Brazil, at the end, the results suggest that we did not only talk about these women, but about most of those who are from a religious and ethnic minority in their countries.