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Thursday, August 16, 2012

"The Constitution tells me I can be Muslim, and I can wear the head scarf. Who is Disney to tell me I cannot?"

They are a company with a specific dress code designed to maintain a certain ambiance and atmosphere, specifically created to give the visitor a unique time and grand memories.  A hijab is not part of that experience, but as we have seen before, Islamic demands are usually accommodated in order to not be seen as Islamophobic.  Disney has not caved (yet) but we shall see if they can stand up to Islamic harrassment.

From KTLA August 13

Muslim Employee Suing Disney Over Right to Wear Hijab

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- A Muslim woman who worked as a hostess at a Disneyland restaurant is suing Disney, claiming the company wouldn't let her appear in front of guests while wearing her headscarf.

It's a dispute that's been going on for about two years, but now the American Civil Liberties Union is getting involved.

It all started in August 2010 when Imane Boudlal, a Morocco-born U.S. citizen, worked at the Storyteller Cafe in Disney's Grand California Hotel.
Boudlal wears a headscarf, or hijab, but Disney said the garment didn't comply with its strict dress code.

Disney offered up a compromise hat for her to wear, but Boudlal said it made her look like a joke.

"The hat makes a joke of my religion and draws even more attention to me," Boudlal told KTLA at the time.

"It's unacceptable. They don't want me to look Muslim. They just don't want the head covering to look like a hijab."

Correct, they don't want you looking like a Muslim.  They also don't want you to look like a Mennonite, Amish, Catholic, Wiccan. Druid, Jewish, Southern Baptist, Scientology or any of the hundreds of other belief systems.  They want you to look Disney, and that precludes you from wearing anything that would make you stand out.  

Boudlal had worked at the resort for two and a half years, but only realized she could wear her hijab to work after studying for her U.S. citizenship exam.

She became a citizen in June 2010, and decided to challenge the Disney dress code a couple months later, on August 15.

When she wore her headscarf to work, Boudlal says she was told to take it off, work in the back where customers couldn't see her or go home.

She had three choices but refused all of them.  Islam must reign supreme, thus the flaunting of company rules and the demand for special accommodations.

She chose to go home, but reported to work for the next two days and was told the same thing.

Boudlal subsequently filed a complaint against Disney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission..

In a prepared statement, Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the company "values diversity and has a long-standing policy against discrimination of any kind."

"Typically, somebody in an on-stage position like hers wouldn't wear something like that, that's not part of the costume," Brown said.

"We were trying to accommodate her with a backstage position that would allow her to work. We gave her a couple of different options and she chose not to take those."

But Boudlal maintains that wearing a headscarf is her constitutional right.

"My scarf doesn't do anything to harm Disney or the guests," she told KTLA.

Yes it does.  It removes the atmosphere of the "Happiest Place on Earth" and changes how visitors see Disneyland.  That is harming the image created by Walt and maintained for almost 60 years.  She should be fired immediately.

"The Constitution tells me I can be Muslim, and I can wear the head scarf. Who is Disney to tell me I cannot?"

1 comment:

Zener said...

What part of dress code doesn't she understand. And why can't she just go work somewhere else if she is that unhappy with her job... I'm sure when she got the job it was made clear what she would be wearing.

Dumb ass.....