JUST ADDED!Disney banned her head scarf – Muslim employee
by sherry
A Muslim woman who works as a hostess at a Disneyland restaurant alleged Wednesday the theme park would not allow her to appear in front of customers while wearing her head scarf.
Imane Boudlal, 26, appeared outside the resort’s Grand Californian Hotel after filing a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
She said when she wore the hijab to work Sunday, her supervisors told her to remove it, work where customers couldn’t see her, or go home.
Boudlal, who wore the scarf in observance of Ramadan, chose to go home but reported to work for the next two days and was told the same thing.
“Miss Boudlal has effectively understood that they’re not interested in accommodating her request either in timing or good faith,” said Ameena Qazi, an attorney from the Council on American-Islamic Relations who is consulting with Boudlal.
Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said Disney has a policy not to discriminate. The resort offered Boudlal a chance to work with the head covering away from customers while Disneyland tries to find a compromise that would allow Boudlal to cover her head in a way that fits with her hostess uniform, Brown said.
Boudlal has worked at the Storyteller restaurant at the hotel for 2½ years but only realized she could wear her hijab to work after studying for her U.S. citizenship exam in June, Qazi said.
She asked her supervisors if she could wear the scarf and was told they would consult with the corporate office, Qazi said. Boudlal didn’t hear anything for two months and was then told she could wear a head scarf, but it had to be designed by Disneyland’s costume department to comply with the Disney look, Qazi said.
She was fitted for a Disney-supplied head scarf but was not given a date when the garment would be finished and was told she couldn’t wear her own hijab in the interim.
Boudlal wore her own hijab to work for the first time Sunday.
Credit ABCNEWS
Disney is very particular on how their employees dress. They also do not allow individuals with visable tatoos or some piercings.
For a company that always boasts their standpoint of “tolerance”, equality for all, and has events such as gay pride days at their theme park… this was pretty intolerant… I’m a born-again fundamentalist Christian, but I stand by the constitution in that nobody should ever have the free exercise and expression of their religion interfered with!
So let me see if I understand this…this young woman was not allowed to wear her own hijab (which would have probably been plain black) but Disney was making arrangements to modify a head covering to “their” standards? So if she had on a hijab printed with Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck or Goofy all over it, this would be acceptable? Or let’s assume, they would be more “conservative” about it…a plain hijab with the “Disney Logo” strategically placed somewhere on the head covering, in bold orange or yellow letters for visability? Hmm, can we say impending lawsuit? This totally defies why this young woman is wearing her head covering all together, if it now becomes a visual advertisement. She would become no more than a working, functioning billboard for Disney!
This young woman will have to really consider issues about the people she is employed with, as well as many of us other women who adhere to our religious modesty on wearing a head covering. Why would you want to work under a company that dares to see your allegiance to God, as secondary?
A working, head covering Christian for life!
I disagree with the previous poster. Disney has a strict dress code, and this employee like all the others knew that from the start. Disney considers their theme park to be a show. The cast members are considered to be “onstage” while working with the public. If this woman was an actor in a play, would the director be obligated to allow her to wear the head scarf even if it was no match for her character? (picture little orphan annie wearing a Hijab)
They offered her a job “backstage” until they could come up with a way for her to cover her head that still fit with the theme but she refused.
(Also, just an FYI, Gay Days in Disney World are not Disney hosted nor promoted. It was started by Disney Fans who keep coming back year after year.)
When the voice of the Invisible Man was heard in the inn yard, a villager fired five shots in the direction of the sound. Searchers found no Body in the yard.