Here’s one from the Georgia homefront. A judge in Douglasville, GA put a woman in jail for trying to enter the courthouse wearing her hijab, or Muslim headscarf. The judge cited a rule about no headcoverings. This same judge previously had another woman removed from court for not removing her hijab.
Now, until I know more I’m going to have to side with the Muslims. The government – including the courts – should always have a good reason for whatever rules they cook up, and in this case… I can’t think of a good reason this woman can’t wear her headscarf in court.
I suspect this rule originated with the Western custom of men removing their hats indoors, and especially when addressing someone in authority. Western women have traditionally worn hats mostly when dressing formally, and have been exempt from the requirement to remove their hats indoors – or even in court. (Women don’t wear hats in that manner so much nowadays; mostly just li’l ol’ ladies.)
And while I’m at it… it would be interesting to ask this judge if he would ask an Orthodox Jew to remove his yarmulke in court. (Somebody Jewish help me out – what are the yarmulke rules?)
So. Back to Douglasville. Since anyone with a brain knows that Muslim women wear their hijabs to show humility and respect, what possible objection could the judge have? They can’t say it’s for security, since everyone has to go through a metal detector. So what’s the deal???
She failed to remove her scarf at the security checkpoint — before she entered any courtroom. I can only presume that she would be allowed to wear it in court once it was determined she was not a security risk. What I’d like to know is why was she not led to a private room so a woman could search her? Maybe she was. I would like to know more, too, about the actual incident.
Thanks for your comment. Actually, if you read the article carefully, the judge had another woman REMOVED FROM THE COURTROOM for wearing her hijab, so I think his intention was that all headgear be off while in court.
Well, if there is some court rule about head coverings being removed in the court room, and he allows women to wear a hijab, isn’t he then guilty of showing religious preference?
One of my big complaints is laws that allow members of a religion to get away with things that would land me in jail. Like not taking my kid to the doctor when they are really sick and instead using the “power” of prayer.
So yeah, maybe he is being insensitive or maybe he is being intentionally rude to Muslims. But maybe he is just saying that the same rules apply to everyone, and I support that.
On the other hand, they would NEVER make a woman (or man) remove their wig—even a cheap obvious one, which could be even more concealing than the hijab!
Places that have rules about head coverings, do not routinely apply to women, as our hats are generally seen as part of our outfit, where as a man’s hat is usually a part of his outerwear.
I wonder if this court would have made a woman remove her hat/head covering if she were bald due to chemotherapy treatment?