Woman told to remove headscarf for state ID because she isn’t a Muslim

Image Credit: United States District Court

A woman in Alabama was forced to remove her headscarf for her driver’s license photo despite saying she wears it according to her Christian faith. She was told only Muslim women could wear head coverings. Because of this double standard, the woman has teamed up with the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit.

“I was devastated when they forced me to remove my headscarf to take my driver’s license photo,“ Yvonne Allen said. “Revealing my hair to others is disobedient to God. I should have the same right as people of other faiths to be accommodated for my religious beliefs.”

As IJ Review points out, Allen is apparently part of a small faction of Christian women who believe the Bible instructs them to keep their heads covered.

But she quickly learned that Muslims have more rights than she when it comes to religious attire. When Allen approached the clerk, she was asked if she was Muslim. When she said no, the clerk said only Muslim women cover their head and wouldn’t allow Allen to wear the covering for her photo. When Allen took it up with a supervisor, she was denied again because she isn’t a Muslim. Allen reluctantly agreed but asked to take the picture in a more private location which the clerk denied.

Allen  wrote three letters to a judge to hear her case that went unanswered. That’s when she turned to the ACLU. Here is the Alabama Department of Public Safety’s requirement for religious headwear in photo IDs:

The photograph of each applicant must be a “full face” photo. A “full face” photo is one in which the applicant is facing the camera directly…Head coverings and headgear are only acceptable due to religious beliefs or medical conditions, and even then, may not obscure any portion of the applicant’s face…Photographs of applicants wearing headgear not specifically religious in nature are not acceptable.

It would seem as though Allen’s request is within the law. Which begs the question: why is it okay for a Muslim to cite religious reasons but not a Christian?

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