New York City has agreed to pay $17.5 million in a class action lawsuit led by two Muslim women who say their religious rights were violated when police forced them to remove their hijabs for mugshots after they were arrested.
The preliminary financial settlement, which still needs to be approved by a district court judge, was filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court on Friday and more than 3,600 people are eligible for payouts under the deal.
The two women, Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz, initially filed the suit in 2018 after they were arrested for violating orders of protection that they called bogus. They were both arrested the year prior year in Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively.
They said they felt shame and trauma after being forced to remove the head coverings which are worn by Muslim women in observance of the Islamic religion. Their lawyers likened removing the hijabs to being strip-searched.
“When they forced me to take off my hijab, I felt as if I were naked,” Clark said in a statement provided by her lawyers. “I’m not sure if words can capture how exposed and violated I felt.”
“I’m so proud today to have played a part in getting justice for thousands of New Yorkers.”
www.foxnews.com/us/nyc-pay-17-5m-forcing-muslim-women-remove-hijabs-mugshot?intcmp=tw_fnc