A study has revealed that sexual assault victims wearing the hijab or niqab, when testifying in court, are viewed more positively than uncovered women. The research was aimed to investigate the importance of being able to see the face to judge credibility among witnesses, along with the importance of religious garments, reported Business Standard.
Contrary to expectations, the study led by researchers from UK’s Lancaster University and Canada’s Memorial University of Newfoundland, found that “positive biases” are created when women testify in court with either their hair covered (the hijab) or their face and hair covered (the niqab). The reason for the bias could be because the religious garments may signal that the wearer is more honest because of a positive view of religion.
