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US Muslim woman files suit over headscarf issue

MIAMI: A US Muslim woman has filed suit against a Florida apartment complex where she had sought employment, after being told she would not be permitted to wear her headscarf to work.

Plaintiff Danine Hammond, 27, filed suit in Orange County in central Florida against the apartment complex where she had been scheduled to begin working in April 2004, after a supervisor told her that before starting her job she would have to remove her religious head covering.

Hammond is seeking 15,000 dollars in lost wages, in addition to damages, according to court documents. “Ms Hammond is Muslim and due to her religious beliefs, wears a veil or headscarf and long sleeves when out in public,” the court papers read.

“The wearing of long sleeves and a headscarf is a bonafide religious practice observed by Muslims, which the defendant is required to accommodate unless it creates an undue hardship,” the suit said. The case is one of several in Florida filed by Muslim women alleging discrimination because of their attire, including a suit in 2004 by a plaintiff against the Disney World theme park, and another filed in 2003 against the state government. afp

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