Air Canada workers forced athlete, 12,
to remove hijab at SFO, complaint says
The Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations alleges Air Canada employees discriminated against a 12-year-old national squash player by forcing her to remove her hijab in the middle of a bustling tunnel at San Francisco International Airport in August.
After passing through the Transportation Security Administration’s security screening along with her squash teammates without incident on Aug. 1, Bay Area resident Fatima Abdelrahman was stopped by an Air Canada employee while trying to board her flight en route to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport for an international tournament, according to a letter of complaint directed to Air Canada officials Friday.
The employee, the complaint alleges, demanded she remove her hijab because it was part of their preboarding identification procedure. Two more employees told Fatima she needed to remove it because she was not wearing it in her passport photo.
“Scared and worried,” the complaint says, Fatima told them she wears a hijab because her “sincerely-held religious beliefs as a practicing Muslim” allow her to choose to cover herself in front of men who are not relatives and in public.
She asked if she could remove it in a private screening area in front of female Air Canada agents, but the complaint says the employees refused and instead led her to a tunnel where travelers were boarding a flight, forcing her to remove her hijab within view of passing strangers.
“This experience not only went against Ms. Fatima’s reasonable request to be able to adhere to her religious beliefs but also left her feeling angry and humiliated,” the complaint reads.
Air Canada officials could not be reached for comment.
The council is requesting monetary damages for Fatima’s emotional distress, formal reprimands of the involved Air Canada employees, competency training for all employees, a written apology, and copies of Air Canada’s current anti-discrimination policy and its former and current identity screening policy.
The complaint alleges Air Canada violated U.S. antidiscrimination laws and probably violated Canada law as well. It also alleges that Air Canada failed to properly address Fatima’s discomfort until after her older sister, Sabreen Abdelrahman, complained of the incident on Twitter.
Air Canada responded to Sabreen Abdelrahman’s public tweet, saying, “We are truly sorry to hear about this situation and we certainly understand your concerns,” and asked for Fatima’s booking information to follow up.
. @AirCanada pls explain why you pulled aside my 12yr old sister for flight 758 making her take off her hijab AT THE GATE?? AFTER she already passed security??
Thx for ruining her experience as the first U.S. National Team Squash player in Hijab + her first time traveling alone
In an Aug. 4 email, the complaint says an Air Canada customer service manager acknowledged the importance of respecting a passenger’s right to privacy but alleged the manager failed to acknowledge employees had searched the girl in “a manner not befitting said right to privacy or in accordance with applicable U.S. or Canadian laws and regulations.”
In a follow-up email from the manager, the complaint says that Air Canada has since updated its preboarding identity screenings so it is clear that passengers are not required to remove hijabs or any other religious head covering. If identity verification is necessary, it can be done in a private area out of view from others, according to the complaint.
“While these steps are necessary and long overdue, Air Canada’s response fails to acknowledge the emotional distress its actions caused Ms. Fatima as well as the violations of anti-discrimination laws,” the complaint reads.
Lauren Hernández is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor
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