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general distrust in whether or not they are being accepted. Teacher’s attitudes and feedback become
crucial in this context as they have the potential to strengthen or attenuate belonging uncertainty.
Belonging uncertainty was experienced most fervently in the higher ranks of the educational
ladder. As these ranks are not populated by a substantial minority student body, minority status
comes forth as a significant disadvantage. Yeliz, a student of pharmaceutics said she had a very hard
time as she felt marginalized as the only veiled woman and Turkish person, coupled with the lack of
feelings of solidarity among the students. She recounts times where she went home crying: “If it
wasn’t for the support of my family, I could have left the degree. If you ask something about an exam
the classmates say: ‘You should have studied. I can’t tell you that.’” Yeliz experienced belonging
uncertainty intensely as she perceived her environment at the faculty as hostile and highly
competitive.
Yeliz recalled an encounter with a professor:
There is in particular one professor who openly doesn’t like foreigners. Once I asked
for a re‐sit exam because he usually allows it. People say like “My grandmother passed
away, so I could not perform” and things like that. I said to him “I will be honest with you.
It went really bad, and I would like to try again.” His demeanour, the way he talked was so
condescending. I tried to not take it personal, and just endure it. When I was leaving he
said “If you had blue eyes, I could do something for you.” I left, and I couldn’t even realize
at that point what he meant. Then I was telling all this to a friend and it dawned on me.
You know Dutch people have blue eyes, and I don’t. It was just infuriating.
Yeliz argued she encountered blatant discrimination due to being a foreigner and not having
blue eyes. She recounted another instance with the same professor who scolded minority people
when they were late for class, saying immigrants are always late and asking “Is your train coming
from Morocco?” Although such incidents seriously undermined feelings of belonging, she made a
conscious effort to brush them off: “I concentrated on my studies and tried not to think about these.
My motivation was to show that as a Muslim, I can be successful too.”
Cemre is another respondent who experienced belonging uncertainty more acutely than
others due to her unique status:
Initially I was not feeling different in school because of the veil. But later on I became a
student at college prep school, the highest level I could go to. It is more special than other
types of school, much more difficult. So, there they would be quite surprised that a veiled
girl made it there. It is as if you cannot be veiled and hard working and bright at the same
time. There I was motivated to show people that I will be successful as a Muslim.
Cemre’s identity as a Muslim‐Turk only became distinctive when she moved from a school
with high a density of minorities to a majority Dutch school as the relative size of a minority will
influence the level of consciousness about their minority identity. 10 Evidently, stereotypical
perceptions regarding the veiled also extended to her academic capabilities, as her success was met
with some surprise. Cemre said she felt the same thing continued in law school, but nevertheless she
was determined to finish. Cemre said “perhaps it will be a bit more difficult but it is not impossible to
practice law as a veiled woman.”
The above shows that an extreme underrepresentation of minority students significantly
raises feelings of belonging uncertainty. However, although both Yeliz and Cemre felt acute
belonging uncertainty in the higher tracks of schooling where minorities were scarce, they managed
not to give in to these feelings and worked diligently for success. While belonging uncertainty may
undermine achievement and might be a cause of dropping out, the fact that Yeliz and Cemre were
resilient in the face of setbacks they encountered shows that it can also increase the fighting and
ambition spirit among some. Indeed, their sense of belonging to a religious and ethnic group with a
strong sense of identity worked for them as a protective factor rendering them resilient against
discrimination. 11 They were able to negotiate the feelings of belonging uncertainty through their
commitment and desire for success. But as elsewhere in the women’s movement, the success of
some does not mean there are still many hindrances on the way for many more women to make it.