Comments on: She Got the Look: Khan v. Abercrombie & Fitch

By: boston_mahesh

boston_mahesh — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 05:41:59 +0000

Good point, Pravin. Also, I don't see Hindu women suing A&F because A&F wouldn't allow them to wear saris and/or bindhis. Bindhis, after all, is a very Hindu thing. You never see Muslims Christians , or Sikhs (although this is changing amongst the urbanites).

I, personally, wouldn't support a Hindu girl who would sue an A&F for firing her for wearing a bhindi, even though a bhindi is even more discrete than a hijab.

By: Pravin Praveen

Pravin Praveen — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 03:14:14 +0000

Considering many Muslim women do not wear a hijab to work, can they claim that this is essential part of the religion?

By: notReally

notReally — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:38:29 +0000

"My point is that when you take your religion that seriously and wear articles of clothing purely because they are a representation of your religion, I believe you hold the teachings/values of your religion very firmly. Why would you then associate yourself or seek employment with an entity that represents exact opposite of that (modesty for women)?"

who knows, maybe a host of reasons, but more importantly, who cares?

Maybe she needed the money? Maybe it was just a temporary gig. Maybe she felt by working in the stock room and making a point about wearing her hijab, she was comfortable in her own religion, but understood that she lived in a different society one in which she might have to work for companies run by people who don't see eye-to-eye with her on every issue.

I happen to think this is a big issue with some muslims in general. I was at an 'american' wedding one of the bride's maids was a hijabi. She wouldn't shake anyone's hands stating "religious reasons" One may ask. why go to social events, and live in a country where shaking hands is standard protocol for greeting, if her religion prohibits her from it? I dunno, it must be pretty tough, but she does it and still walks away from it all saying she's "American"

I'm not familiar with A & F here, I think they represent a little bit more than "immodesty for women" but the way you (and other people going on and on about the 'hypocrisy' of it all) describe it, I'd think it was the moonlite bunny ranch.

By: Ravinder

Ravinder — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:01:03 +0000

@notReally:

Civil Rights law doesn't allow discrimination based on religion

I agree 100%. I wasn't arguing the point that what A&F did is right.

I was just commenting from a different perspective.

in her mind, the hijab is a representation of her religion

And what does hijab really represent? - Modesty for women in Islam. My point is that when you take your religion that seriously and wear articles of clothing purely because they are a representation of your religion, I believe you hold the teachings/values of your religion very firmly. Why would you then associate yourself or seek employment with an entity that represents exact opposite of that (modesty for women)?

By: notReally

notReally — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:34:59 +0000

All this stuff about her being hypocritical, or working for a douchey company or her not being a true muslim and all that nonsense is secondary. You might even argue it’s arbitrary what comes under “religion” when it comes to discrimination, ie people making up religions and saying X, Y, and Z is against their religion. But the point is she WORKED THERE for 4 months, and all of a sudden A & F’s boundary shifted inwards. That’s their problem.

By: notReally

notReally — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 05:31:18 +0000

"A woman wearing a hijab does not exactly fit that picture for most of the consumers in the USA. I am an atheist myself and completely respect other people's choice of faith but wonder - if the hijab symbolizes modesty of women in Islam, why work for a company that symbolizes exact opposite of that? Is it convenience based faith?"

Missing the point.

There's really only these points that matter:

-they let her work there for 4 months -they fired her, after asking her to remove her hijab, and she wouldn't -in her mind, the hijab is a representation of her religion -Civil Rights law doesn't allow discrimination based on religion

hence, they broke the law.

By: Ravinder

Ravinder — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:47:50 +0000

Whether you agree or not, the modern day society is very “look” conscious. Companies (especially clothing & cosmetics) try to market their product as “sexy” or “cool looking in a sexy way”. A woman wearing a hijab does not exactly fit that picture for most of the consumers in the USA. I am an atheist myself and completely respect other people’s choice of faith but wonder – if the hijab symbolizes modesty of women in Islam, why work for a company that symbolizes exact opposite of that? Is it convenience based faith?

By: DisHijabAndShoveIt

DisHijabAndShoveIt — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 05:14:28 +0000

"What confuses me most of all if when I see a woman wearing a hijab, but also clothing reveals either her arms of legs"

yea. I've wanked off to such people before.

By: un-hijabi

un-hijabi — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:29:29 +0000

I don’t know…I’ve met many hijabis who were completely covered, not wearing tight clothes, totally modest, but they looked good. Their outfits were sophisticated and classy. I guess this is just my opinion. But I don’t think a woman has reveal ANY part of her body to dress well and look nice. A woman can wear a niqab, and have killer eyes and look good…

And I agree. I don’t get the tight jeans, short sleeve shirts, layers of make-up, and a hijab…but then again, I’m not one to judge (since aspects of my life are hypocritical as well), nor am I one to tell someone else how to dress.

By: Sahar

Sahar — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 06:16:04 +0000

Thanks for saying this Alina. You are not out of line. This is a great point!