Women across the country are having their civil rights blatantly violated while in police custody

A recent wave of arrests of Muslim women at pro-Palestine protests has highlighted a critical flaw in the US criminal justice system: the lack of protection for religious freedom, particularly for Muslim women who wear the hijab. The hijab is an essential part of a Muslim woman’s faith, symbolizing modesty, privacy, and agency over her body. However, law enforcement officials have been targeting Muslim women, stripping them of their hijabs, and subjecting them to humiliating and traumatizing experiences.

Sumaya Hamadmad, a research scientist at Ohio State University, was arrested on April 25, for “criminal trespassing” while simply enjoying the sunny morning on campus. When she questioned the officers’ orders to leave, she was arrested and transferred to a Franklin County jail, where she was strip-searched and ordered to remove her hijab. Despite her multiple requests, she was denied a head covering for 12 hours, forcing her to tuck her arms and hair into her shirt to remain covered.

Hamadmad is not alone in her experience. Multiple incidents of law enforcement officials taking off women’s hijabs against their will have occurred alongside sweeping arrests at pro-Palestine protests. Many of these incidents have taken place on college campuses, with verified reports from students and faculty at least four universities.

The hijab is an expression of a Muslim woman’s faith, and depriving her of it can be humiliating and traumatizing. Muslim women have a clear First Amendment right to keep their heads covered for religious purposes, including in spaces where others might have to remove head coverings. However, there are no federal laws that explicitly protect a woman’s right to keep on her hijab while being arrested, in police custody, or in a temporary holding facility.

The lack of protection for religious freedom is not limited to the hijab. Muslim women have reported being forced to remove their hijabs for mug shots, being searched by male officers, and being denied access to religious accommodations in prison. Jinan, a 27-year-old engineer from Maryland, was arrested in March while protesting in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. She was ordered to remove her hijab for a mug shot, and when she refused, she was arrested and taken to a jail where she was forced to wait for 12 hours without a hijab.

The experiences of Hamadmad and Jinan are not isolated incidents. A spokesperson for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office claimed that all detainees were processed in accordance with “constitutional, statutory, and administrative law,” but the reality is that Muslim women are being subjected to discrimination and Islamophobia.

The lack of protection for religious freedom is not limited to law enforcement. Many police departments have no policies in place regarding religious head coverings, and even when they do, they are often ignored. The New York Police Department, for example, changed its policy in 2020 to allow people to keep their religious head coverings, including hijabs, for their mug shot and throughout their stay in custody. However, the NYPD may have violated its own policy in at least one instance since the crackdown on Gaza solidarity encampments began.

The experiences of Muslim women in US prisons and police custody are a stark reminder of the need for greater legal protection for religious freedom. The hijab is an essential part of a Muslim woman’s faith, and depriving her of it can be humiliating and traumatizing. It is time for law enforcement officials to respect the religious beliefs of Muslim women and for policymakers to pass laws that protect their right to practice their faith freely.

Source: The Nation