Comments on: A Hairy Predicament: Muslim Woman Suing Hairdresser for Employment Discrimination

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:55:00 +0000

“with the rest of the Aishahs, Shabinas and Aneelas we have seen.” lol

By: Jessica

Jessica — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:18:00 +0000

Having worked in a hair salon, I think this is crazy. My uncle runs a “hip” urban hair salon and sure he hires younger girls with tattoos and dreads, but he also has many hair dressers who are over 40 and very conservative, one who is extremely religious. He can still maintain the image of the salon having all kinds of different hair dressers. Isn’t shutting out a hijabi shutting out potential clientel?Hair salons are notorious for their racism here. I know an owner at a place I worked who would only hire hairdressers who hadn’t trained in “ethnic” hair styling, so he legally wouldn’t have to serve customers who were Black or Asian.Perhaps underlying this all maybe the owner believed hiring a hijabi would attract more arab people and thought in some ridiculous way that would be a bad thing for business? I know I’ve heard owners say that once the word gets out you’ll serve “ethnic” clients, you’ll be “swamped”. Which is a disgusting statement. It’s hair!I think people need to stop hiring on image. What person fits into one image category anyway? Employee or customer. It’s silly to want to project anything but professionalism and good customer service through the way you appear at work. How can you project coolness or hipness?

By: Safiya

Safiya — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 03:54:00 +0000

Salaam Alaikum,I think this is an interesting challenge.To the hairdressers it would seem hijab = unable to cut hair, because surely that is what she would be employed to do.I think the real issue, is that a hijabi cannot be seen as being ‘cool’, because being religiously observant is not seen as being cool. So to me, this is definitely religious discrimination.However, I believe Bushra lives in London. Are there not Muslimah salons/mobile hairdressers who would be happy to employ her?Apparently Bushra is suing the hairdresser who was the rudest to her. I can imagine how rude, as people seem to forget that not only are Muslims human, but they have remarkably similiar concerns to non-Muslims – including having nice hair.

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:14:00 +0000

I understand that argument, and I think you and I are in agreement. I was just trying to play devil’s advocate. Whether it’s right or not, many businesses are reluctant to hire people if they perceive the candidate doesn’t fit into a preexisting aesthetic or marketable image associated with the business. Not really fair, but it exists to varying degrees for all cultures and subcultures, as in my punk example. A clean-cut Mormon might have difficulty getting the same job this young woman applied for, since it sounds as if the manager prefers a more “earthy” image for her business, regardless of his or her qualifications.

By: Zeynab

Zeynab — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:39:00 +0000

I wouldn’t agree with putting a neck tattoo and a headscarf in the same category. But think about it this way, for arguments’ sake: would the proprietor have hired a bald man? He doesn’t even HAVE hair…so hopefully he would be judged on his resume and expertise. I’m not sure if Ms. Noah was judged on her credentials or performance.

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:40:00 +0000

This happens all the time in jobs where people are required to interact with the public. If you apply for a job at a bank or an insurance company, they’re probably going to ask that you not have a mohawk, gaged ears and neck tattoos, and if you do, that you minimize their appearance. I don’t really think it’s a racial thing either.