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Journalism of Courage
In a shocking incident, a 19-year-old student was asked to remove her hijab or leave at a McDonald’s outlet in London. The bizarre demand made by a security guard at the outlet riled the girl so much that she has vowed not to enter the fast-food chain ever again. The incident took place at McDonald’s restaurant on Seven Sister’s Road in Holloway, London and she and her friends were appalled by the discrimination.
After the security guard kept pestering her to take off her headscarf, she decided to film the incident. To the query of the Muslim woman why she can’t stand in line at the eatery, the man wearing a security ID card, can be heard on the video saying, “It’s just a matter of taking it [hijab] off.” As he gestures his hand over his head to ask so, the woman retaliates, “It’s not just a matter of taking it off. I wear this for religious reasons and I’m not ashamed of it, and I will stand in line and I will get the food I want because this isn’t OK.”
https://twitter.com/south_sab/status/936293395672326144
https://twitter.com/amaanimasterr/status/936290116158574592
As one of the fellow bystanders decided to support the girl and stop the guard, he is seen telling him to mind his own business. When she is irked further and tries to get to the bottom of things and ask on whose orders such a “hate crime” is being implemented, another staff at the outlet asks her to stop filming which she denies.
Watch the full video here
https://twitter.com/south_sab/status/936543344964009986
Realising things are getting out of hand, he then tries to pacify her by asking what she wants but by then she decides to leave the premises. The video was posted on Twitter by a friend of the woman who wished to remain anonymous, reported the Guardian.
“I thought: ‘It’s finally happening to me,’ like it has to so many hijabis. It didn’t feel real because I had seen so many videos like this and it was finally happening to me in real life. I was in so much disbelief,” she was quoted in the report.
The video is going viral and led to a huge social media outcry. However, there were a few who tried to argue this is not a hate crime.
https://twitter.com/BadriaJibril/status/936707938487586822
https://twitter.com/Resh__xo/status/936662702440710144
https://twitter.com/KAStoleMyHeart/status/936649426151583745
https://twitter.com/army_amy_my/status/936722551065206786
https://twitter.com/Bitch82148054/status/936749614069362689
https://twitter.com/sadbutradart/status/936907308679888896
Facing a severe backlash online, McDonald’s was forced to apologise. “We don’t have a policy which restricts/ prevents anyone wearing hijab or any other religious dress from coming to restaurants. We welcome customers of all faiths & apologise to the customer as this situation shouldn’t have taken place,” the fast-food giant wrote on Twitter.
