Cultural Exchange: Challenging My Perception of Muslim Women

The assignment content tells the story of a hairdresser who had an interesting cultural exchange with a client from Pakistan who was a Muslim woman. Despite some misunderstandings, the hairdresser learned about the client's migration journey and her experiences as a Pakistani woman in Australia. The client revealed that she was from a minority Muslim sect called Ismaili, which valued education and integration with the new community. This revelation challenged the hairdresser's perceptions of Islam women and made her realize how narrow her worldview had been.

My Cultural exchange happened to me at work. I found this exchange very
interesting and informative and challenged my perception of Islam women in
society.
I work as a hairdresser at my home salon and I come into contact with people daily.
A few weeks ago on a busy Friday I received a phone call form a woman with an
accent who spoke very good English, she had seen my advertisement online and
wanted a quote for her hair colour. As I had not seen the thickness, length and
regrowth of her hair I replied that I could not provide her a firm quote but if she text
me a picture of her hair I would be able to. After some misunderstanding I did
receive a picture of the top of her head and quoted her the price. She thought my
price was too high and wanted me to lower my price. I offered her my promotion of
a free second service with the colour as a first time client but this did not appeal to
her either. She wanted ony the colour but at a better price. At this stage I was feeling
a bit irritated as I was busy with a client and had been interrupted and was stopping
and starting on the client I was working on and was wasting precious time. I offered
her a $10 discount if she was able to come down within 30 minutes as I had an
hour free in between appointments. She agreed. And within minutes called back
again much to my frustration to ask if I use Loreal hair colour which is one of the
most expensive professional colours to use. I replied I did use some Loreal as well as
others and depending on her hair colour I may or may not use Loreal. But I was
thinking this person wants the best product at the cheapest price. I was feeling
exasperated by the continual calls which felt similar to harrassment to me by this
stage. The client I was working on was a marketing student and commented on how
haggling works in some economies but Australia had an established economy and
fixed prices and it wasn’t the done thing here. By this time I was forming a opinion
based on my past experiences with migrant clients and my own upbringing as the
child of immigrants.
I had witnessed my parents so similar haggles on many occasions, it was a common
procedure the implemented to negotiate a better price. The culture they originated
from haggling was common place to negotiate over inflated prices in the produce
and service market. As a child I found my parents haggling embarrassing especially
when they tried it in places where obviously fixed prices existed and the shop
owners where not ethnic. Often it worked and they got discounted prices or extras
thrown in for the same price. And as business owners themselves later on they too
were haggled. It was ritually performed and many times we children could not
understand why our parents would do the services at little more than cost where
they could have potentially worked less and realised greater profits with non ethnic

clients. It was a great source of frustration and conflict between the generations.
I always felt that once I was given a quote it was up to me to decide whether I was
willing to pay the price quoted or seek an alternative quote. I now understand that I
could afford that opinion because I was not the unskilled migrant with dependents
and limited resources to have to make ends meet. Also, as it was a culturally
accepted way of life for my parents and other immigrants this made sense.
Farzana arrived and I was surprised by the length of her hair. The picture she had
sent had shown the top of her head and I felt this misrepresented what I had been
asked to quote which made me feel slightly deceived and taken advantage of. Her
hair had been lightened and she had blonde foils through it. This time she wanted
only her roots retouched but no foils. I knew she was a foreigner but had no clear
idea from where. Her western dress and appearance did not suggest middle east,
she could have been a fair skinned Indian or Sri Lakan? From my internal referencing
I was unprepared for her to be a Pakistani and a Muslim as she later revealed. I was
surprised as as I was of her only arriving in Australia the previous month.
As I coloured her hair she told me her migration journey had taken five months to be
approved from commencement to arrival. She was on a South Australian state
sponsored work visa and was required to reside in SA for two years. In Karachi both
she and her husband were investment bankers. She was the mother of three
daughters, and eight year old and twin two year olds. She had lived in Sydney where
her father had been and ENT specialist from the ages of 8 to 15. The family then
returned to Pakistan because they wanted their daughters to do further studies and
make marriages within their own culture. This I understood as my Italian parents
wanted the same even though we did not live in Italy. To have married out of their
lapsed Catholic faith and Italian culture would have been met with disapproval. She
also explained they had not been able to find employment and that the exchange
rate from Pakistani rupees to Australia dollars did not work in their favour. I
immediately felt compassion and understanding that with three dependants and
two adults without work income money would be tight and yet she was looking for
work and wants to present with well groomed and maintained hair. She had to
stretch her budget.
I expressed my surprise and her dress and hair which was not covered. She
explained she was from a minority Muslim sect, that I had not heard of, the Ismaili.
In many places they were persecuted for their liberal beliefs. She explained that the
Aga Khan is their Imam or spiritual leader based in Paris and he has a direct linear
descendance to the prophet Mohamed. This sect of Islam valued education and
integration with the new communities they settled in. The women were not required

to wear the hijab as the Ismaili believe that one follows intention with action so it is
not necessary to cover up, if your intentions are pure why cover up? The hijab can
cover up an impure intention, even though wearing it can mean one is a respectable
and honourable woman. This revelation made me realise how narrow my world view
of a Muslim woman is, I had built a picture based on what I knew via media not by
directly speaking to one.
I have always viewed the hijab, burka or Niqab as similar in dress to the nuns habit
and veils that the Sisters of Mercy wore at my Catholic schools, none of their hair
was exposed either. I did not take exception to their dress as a child, I felt it
distinguished them as brides of Christs and they had an elevated and revered status.
I did not find it something to be fearful of at all. But I admit that seeing that dress in
the general population of females makes me feel uncomfortable, not the dress per
say but to me it represents female oppression.
I realise I am highly sensitive to female oppression based on my world-view and
experience of upbringing in the male patriarchal Italian culture which oppressed
females and diminished their worth, value and opportunities in favour of males only
because of gender not capability. I imagined the Muslim culture to be equally if not
more severe towards it female population. If a female wishes to dress any ways she
wants to I rejoice with that but that it is imposed on her so that she is of good
character and reflects favourably for her male relatives raises in me fear, no doubt
residual from my upbringing where violence against women was used to control and
dominate women.
This cultural exchange presented to me many ways to challenge my perceptions of
others and also to accept what I had found challenging growing up as the child of
immigrants, the additional alternative cultural world view and at times forced
alienation from the main dominant culture, as well as the generational challenges
as part and course of life for the immigrants children , not just me personally.
Parents did their best with the world view they had under the circumstances they
lived in. I feel compassion for both the immigrant in that circumstance and their
children but I identify especially with their children, sometimes feel their wistful
longing for not being trapped between the two cultures and conflicts that arise
because of the duty and obligation to parents and family expectation and denial of
autonomy and freedom of choice a seen as betrayal to family, and repression of self
will becomes the solution.
I didn’t expect to feel so transported to my upbringing, but I realise that is my world
view and I can see how influential it is.