Muslim woman files complaint over dress code

Muslim woman files complaint over dress code

Tue Nov 20, 2007 2:24 PM EST
By Irene Kuan

TORONTO (Reuters) - A Muslim woman suspended from her job at Toronto's Pearson airport for wearing a skirt deemed too long by her employer has filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

The complaint states the woman had been discriminated against on the basis of her religion by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) and the security company that employed her, Garda of Canada.

Halima Muse, 33, had worked as a screener in the airport's security area for the past five years. She had worn pants with her uniform, but in February 2007, she asked her employer to supply her with a skirt because she felt the pants were not modest enough and showed the shape of her body. She said she was told her choices were either pants or a knee-length skirt, which goes against the Islamic dress code.

Muse decided to make her own longer version of the skirt, using identical fabric.

"Before I make it, I talked to the uniform guy, and I asked him if I can make it the same color. He told me, if I make it the same color, I can make it," Muse said in an interview.

She wore the home-made skirt for about seven months without problems before she was told she was in violation of CATSA's uniform code.

"They just sent me home. They told me, we need you to wear pants or short skirt. But my skirt was only 2 inches longer." Muse said.

A press release from the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations said the Teamsters union that represented Garda workers had approached the company on behalf of Muse but was told that CATSA would not make any exceptions to the uniform policy.

The rights body was presented with a similar case in 2003. A 16 year-old Muslim girl was expelled from a private school in Montreal for wearing a head scarf even though it was the same color as her school uniform. The complaint was later dropped by her family and the girl enrolled at a public school.

Last week, an 11 year-old Muslim girl was ousted from a judo tournament in Manitoba because she refused to remove her head scarf.