RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION: Disneyland Facing Charges over Hijab

August 18, 2010

Anaheim – A religious discrimination complaint has been filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Disneyland yesterday.

The discrimination complaint was filed by 26-year-old Imane Boudlal, who works as a hostess at the Disneyland Restaurant.

According to the lawsuit, Boudlal wore a hijab – a traditional head scarf- last Sunday for Ramadan but was told to by supervisors to either remove it, work in an area where she will not be seen by customers or go home.

Boudlal chose to go home but reported for work the next day; however, she was told the same thing for the next two days.

According to Boudlal, she was looking forward to wearing the hijab after studying for her US citizenship in June.

She claims that she approached her supervisors about wearing the scarf at work but was told that it had to be consulted with the corporate office.

After two months, she was told that a head scarf will be designed for her by the costume department and she should not wear another head scarf while waiting.

However, while she was fitted for the scarf, she was not given timetable about when it will be finished.

Bouldal is now consulting with Ameena Qazi, an attorney from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Qazi told the media that Bouldal understood that Disneyland was not interested in providing accommodations for her request either in timing or in good faith.

Suzi Brown, a spokeswoman from Disneyland, responded that Disney has a policy not to discriminate.

According to Brown, the resort gave Bouldal the chance to work with the head covering away from the customers while the company looks for ways to find a compromise that would allow her to cover her head in a way that fits with her uniform.