DL Employee-Hijab, huh?????? Walt Disney World (WDW) News Discuss DL Employee-Hijab, huh?????? in the News & Rumors forums; Okay ya'll, I saw this and thought I would drop it in see where everyone stands on it. We’ve already told you about France’s fines for Muslim women who wear ...

[Keasmom]

Okay ya'll, I saw this and thought I would drop it in see where everyone stands on it.
We’ve already told you about France’s fines for Muslim women who wear a full face cover in public ... but can you believe that the happiest place on Earth is following suit?

According to The Huffington Post, a Muslim woman who is employed as a hostess at a Disneyland restaurant filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming that the park would not allow her to appear in front of customers while wearing her head scarf.

Imane Boudlal, 26, said she wore her traditional hijab to work last Sunday and her supervisors told her that the hostess either had to remove it or work somewhere where customers at the Storyteller restaurant couldn’t see her.

Boudlal, who was wearing the scarf in observance of Ramadan, said she went home that day, but when she came back to work the next two days she got the same message from management. Though she’d worked at the restaurant for more than two years, the Moroccan native said she only realized she could wear her hijab to work after studying for her U.S. citizenship exam in June.

A Disney spokesperson said the company has a non-discrimination policy and explained that “typically somebody in an on-stage position like hers wouldn’t wear something like that, that’s not part of the costume.” After asking again if she could wear the scarf to work, she waited two months for a reply and was then told that she had to wait for Disneyland’s costume department to come up with a Mickey-certified garment that would comply with the Disney look.

Though she was fitted for a Disney-approved hijab, she was never notified about when it would be finished. Told she could not wear her own head covering in the meantime, a frustrated Boudlal decided to wear her hijab to work on Sunday and was sent behind the scenes as a result.

[doconeill]

I think the point is that those cast members who are "on stage" are considered performers in costume, and Disney is allowed to dictate more in that area. They tried to accommodate her by moving her off-stage for the duration but she chose to go home instead.

Admittedly, they should have been more responsive, but it seems like this may have been the first case and no one really knew how to handle it. It shouldn't take costuming that long to come up with something that fit the costume.

[Chrissy&Tayen]

was going to say something and changed my mind

[HauntedGabe]

Pandora's box.

I know what you mean Chrissy.

[DisneyDreamer13]

if they offered her work off stage so she could keep it on and stay at work, then surely thats a fair solution? A lot of Disney CM's have to conform to costumes, its just part of the job they chose

[Chrissy&Tayen]

Originally Posted by HauntedGabe

Pandora's box.

I know what you mean Chrissy.

this is a no win discussion.. she is right.. but she is also wrong.

i agree she should be able to wear it.. but i also agree with disney.. becuase when i see cindy or ariel.. shes not wearing a head scarf.. so if 2 years ago she agreed to be a in costume character or hostess she knew what she was getting into.. but i also agree people have freedom of religion that makes america so great.. this is a tuff choice.. i would move her to a job where she could wear it.. or she is going to have to understand while at work in costume you cant wear it.. i do know.. its a topic that is made to be hot and explode...lol thats why i first pulled back on sayin anything.. i see both sides and agree with both of them.. i would hate to the one over seeing this

[designbymk]

This is a briar patch.

[lorilovestigger]

Right now this is going ok but let's not let it turn into some political/religious debate please.

[Veritas]

My take on this is pretty simple. She is a costumed cast member. If she were playing a face character she would not wear the hijab because the costume is a work requirement. Should disney have worked more quickly to Disney her up a head covering, sure. but the fact of the matter is her work costume. She was given the opportunity to work backstage, it wasn't a "lose the hijab or you're fired situation". Reasonable accomodation can only go so far. Slippery slope indeed.

[Veritas]

Of course on the topic of reasonable accomodation, will the situation develop that she will not wait on tables if she has to serve alcohol of pork products to guests?

[WDW4Ever]

This is the definition of Pandora's Box. But coming from a secular side and business side, Disney is in the right here. Well maybe not right, but they have the final say being the employer. I do not know this for a fact, but I'm sure there's got to be something in her contract stipulating that she's in costume when in public.

I will, however, say that from from a personal standpoint she was a bit impetuous and puerile for just leaving when she didn't get her way.

I will also say that Disney really should have gotten their act together and gotten her an answer or solution way before two months. It's like China when the 2008 olympics were in Beijing. China law says that you need a permit from the government to hold a protest. When people were wanting protest permits to protest the olympics, the Chinese government didn't give them out until after the Olympics were over with.

[Flrancho]

My personal take is she is a costumed CM. The head scarf is not part of her costume and she probably knew up front that as a costumed CM she wouldn't be allowed to wear her head scarf. Could you imagine someone working at Thunder Mountain wearing a head scarf.... talk about "bad show", not to mention culture clash.

That being said, if she was hired for behind-the-scenes work, she should be able to wear her head scarf. Maybe she just needs to ask for more of a role in which she's not so much part of the "show" part of Disneyland.

[tdf192]

Agree totally with most of these posts. It seems strange to me for Disney to be this slow and useless at this sort of business.

There are some places where the story is all important. However surely the easiest thing would have been to have moved her to a different area "on-stage" there are many areas where the head scarf would not disrupt the story of the costume, tommorowland being one (even Main St nowadays).
As a hostess i'm sure she is experienced enough to move to a different restaurant / area like guest relations for the period of Ramadan

[wallfan329]

In the story I read from my local news said that Disney was "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 and to go home."

[BamaEd1]

The cast member is wrong and showboating. She has worked there for 2 1/2 years and suddenly her union (who are trying to negotiate a contract as I understand it) and her religious group are pushing her to do this. She lives in a country where she is allowed to leave her job if she can no longer comply with the rules of the workplace; unlike some Muslim countries where she would be stoned in the street for not wearing a head covering or having a job (I'm in the military and have been to Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan...it happens whether you like it or not; I've seen it). She is a pawn and part of a publicity stunt and it is completely shameful that she stooped to something as deeply personal as religion to make a point. Too bad Disney didn't fire her a%& when she abandoned her job.