Resisting Racism in Nursing

The current featured article in ANS offers critical insight into the dynamics of racism in nursing using narrative analysis. The article is by Nancy Clark, PhD, RN and Nasrin Saleh, RN, MPH, titled “Applying Critical Race Feminism and Intersectionality to Narrative Inquiry A Point of Resistance for Muslim Nurses Donning a Hijab”.  We invite you to download this article while it is featured, and share your comments and insights related to this important issue.  Here is a message sent by the authors for ANS readers:

Nancy Clark

Our article is based on the doctoral work of the second author who is a practicing Muslim nurse wearing a hijab. The article begins with a powerful quote by Nasrin Saleh stemming from her daily experiences and an encounter with one of her patients who accused her of being a terrorist based on her hijab. The article proposes a methodological approach that employs narrative inquiry framed within critical race feminism and the lens of intersectionality as a point of resistance for Muslim nurses donning to stand against their racialization.

We are very pleased to have our article published in ANS and in this special issue. Our article is timely and powerful, considering the dramatic and recent rise of islamophobia in the US, Canada, Europe and globally, and the current political climate, the heightened attention placed on Muslims by the media, the hypervisibility of Muslim women and nurses donning hijab, and the lack of knowledge on the experiences of Muslim nurses donning a hijab. Therefore, in our view, a main contribution of the article is in advocating for a collective antiracist social action in nursing by proposing a methodological approach to bring the voices of Muslim nurses donning hijab to the collective discourse

Nasrin Saleh

on racism in nursing, and to recognize and speak against the racialization of Muslim women/nurses. The article introduces religion as an axis of difference and the need for examining its intersections with gender and race in shaping the experiences of Muslim nurses donning hijab. This article is also a step forward in speaking against racism in nursing and to advance social justice.