Woman in black hijab ‘scares’ colleagues

London, June 25: A Muslim woman has filed a religious discrimination complaint against her employers at a UK tribunal for allegedly ordering her to remove her black hijab because it signified “terrorist affiliation”.

The estate agent, who has not been named, had been working for Harvey Dean in Bury, Greater Manchester, for about a year when she said her managers took issue with her hijab.

A complaint filed at the Manchester Employment Tribunal was quoted by The Independent as saying that the woman was told that moving from a back office into public view meant “that it would be in the best interest of the business for her to change the colour of her hijab due to the supposed terrorist affiliation with the colour black”.

A colleague allegedly claimed that the predominantly white and nonMuslim community around the company’s office would “feel intimidated and scared if they saw the claimant”.

The woman, who had been wearing a black headscarf that left her face uncovered since starting at Harvey Dean, was quoted as saying that she was not prepared to change her attire for the reasons given. She said she refused her employers’ orders again in a phone call and a meeting held the following day with the male manager, who had allegedly brought coloured hijabs into the office for her to change into.

Hours later, the woman said she was reprimanded for sending a text message to her father.