California, August 20: A Muslim working at a Disney restaurant has claimed she was banned from wearing a headscarf because it didn’t fit in with the company’s look.
Imane Boudlal,26, said she was told she couldn’t serve customers while wearing the traditional hijab.
She was allegedly told she could work out of sight of customers at the back of the restaurant or go home.
Moroccan born Boudlal is now suing Disney for discrimination following the incident at the Storyteller themed restaurant near Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
She said she wore the hijab to work to observe the traditions of the Ramadam festival.
Her supervisors allegedly told her it was not the “Disney look” and asked her to work behind the scenes rather than serving customers.
Disney insists it did not discriminate against Boudlal and had offered to make a hijab to their design.
Boudlal said she wore her own headscarf when Disney failed to deliver their own.
She has worked at the restaurant for two years but had never worn a hijab to work before the incident which triggered the tribunal.
Her lawyers said she only realised she could wear the traditional headdress while taking her US citizenship exam.
Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the hijab would be a departure from the costume policy for Boudlal’s role as hostess at the restaurant.
She added: “It has to do with the costume, every role at Disneyland Resort has a specific costume.”
Boudlal is supported in her discrimination claim by her union and the Muslim Council of America.
-Agencies