by Israa Abid in World on 12th October, 2017
A young Muslim teacher has been asked to remove her hijab at English nursery school in Kuwait.
Twenty three year old Fouzia Khatun, had applied for a teaching position at the English Playgroup in Kuwait, on the basis she would applying to work in a country where her religious values would be openly accepted and embraced.
“To say I applied for a job in Kuwait where I felt I would easily fit in due to same religious beliefs and Islamic mind of thoughts, where I thought being a hijabi would be an honour rather than an accepted dress code, where I was hoping to feel free and liberated”
Instead, she was informed in an email that she would need to remove her hijab in order to teach, as the Kuwaiti parents ‘ like British teachers but not wearing hijab’. She was further told in another email, the parents did not want their children to be taught by ‘covered teachers, and that their establishment is an ‘English School’, and that the condition was ‘non negotiable’.
Fouzia took to Instagram to express her shock and disappointment at the discrimination she faced;
Many showed their outrage at the English Playgroup, expressed support to Fouzia;
I wonder what educational values does this English Playgroup school promotes. This radical discrimination has no place in Kuwait, neither UK pic.twitter.com/FuC3kSepIK
— طلال الخضر (@Talkhedher) October 12, 2017
I'm actually disgusted that a school in Kuwait, a Muslim country asked my cousin to take her hijab off in order to work for them. pic.twitter.com/UTykkm3tC8
— 6'6 (@cocoravish) October 10, 2017
It's crazy how we are more comfortable as muslims in the UK than a Muslim country, honestly shocking! https://t.co/8uy7c2r6nN
— Amina (@sincerelyamina_) October 11, 2017
Well that puts to bed the old "we wouldn't be able to get away with it in *their* countries" argument. https://t.co/omefRlmHr1
— K (@K_A_M28) October 11, 2017
In the comments section of her Instagram post about the issue, it’s clear that this is not an isolated incident and that other Muslim women experience this same type of discrimination also;
The fact that Muslim women are not free from discrimination because of their choice to wear hijab, even in Muslim countries, is a cause for concern.
Israa is a Creative writing and English literature graduate, and currently volunteers for a few charities. In between her routine of nerding out over Dungeons and Dragons, and obsessively eating strawberries, she spends her time writing as much as she can.