The Cognition and Perception Laboratories, founded and directed by Timothy Jordan, Professor of Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology, conducts experiments in such key areas as visual perception, written and spoken language recognition, facial processing, and hemispheric specialization, often applying this knowledge to studying cognitive and perceptual processes across different cultures, genders, and societies. As a major part of this research, the Labs conduct experiments on perceptions of hijab-clad woman, including how wearing the hijab affects perception of an individual's character and personality in the “eyes” of people around the world. The Baroness became aware of these experiments in the UK and is now an active associate of the Labs, providing international support and international connections with the Labs and this research.
Professor Jordan is also advising members of the UK Parliament on how the brain perceives Muslim women in order to improve social and legal attitudes towards Muslim women and girls around the world.
Baroness Shaista Gohir, a member of the UK Parliament and the House of Lords, is a Muslim herself and has been promoting the image of Muslim women to the British public, including through her presentations, and has decided to support the work of the Cognition and Perception Labs.
She is the Chair of the Muslim Women's Network UK, a major charity working to advance social justice and equality for Muslim women and girls in the UK, and is the founder and executive director of Nisa Global Foundation, a charity established in 2021 that helps Muslim women and girls in many countries around the world.
Due to Baroness Gohir's special interest in the labs’ scientific research on the brain's perception of Muslim women, the Cognition and Perception Labs’ research on the perception of Muslim women in Turkiye and the UK is an important part of the collaboration between our University and the UK Parliament. Prof. Jordan, the founder and director of the labs, has been invited to present the findings of the research (which aims to improve the understanding of perceptions of Muslim women and girls) to policy makers at a meeting at the UK Houses of Parliament, and thereby help improve social and legal attitudes towards Muslim women and girls around the world.
Baroness Gohir is also scheduled to visit the University and the Cognition and Perception Laboratories in the near future.
