Metropolitan police acknowledges wrongdoing in making Muslim women remove their Hijab at UK airports.
Asiyah, a Hijab-wearing Muslim woman, pursued a judicial review against the Met Police after being “forced” to remove her headscarf at Heathrow airport.
This led to the release of a transcript recorded at the airport between Asiyah and the male officers working there. In these transcripts, the officers told her “we can take photographs that we need by force” and “you might end up being arrested because you wouldn’t let us take a photograph of your hair”.
The 25-year-old woman declared that these measures were humiliating
“For any woman who does not wear hijab, it would be the equivalent of two men telling a woman to remove her top so they can take pictures of her. The fact they were men insisting I did this made it even worse and embarrassing for me. It is part of the purpose of the hijab to preserve yourself from the gaze of men.”
She added in her witness statement
“Being forced to remove my hijab was the most dehumanising and embarrassing experience of my life. I was made to feel worthless. I felt that my honour had been violated. Schedule 7 is a horrifying experience for a young woman like myself. The fact that the police can behave in such a way without any repercussions is frightening.”
Adding to her victory, Asiyah hopes for the other Muslim women who faced these types of procedures to step forward and call them out.
