When visiting the Department of Moter Vehicles (DMV) to renew their driver’s license, most people can expect nothing more than long lines and tedious paperwork. However, while trying to renew her license on Aug. 13, 2021, Khadija Ghaniezadeh experienced something from an employee at the Redlands DMV that many women who wear hijab experience regularly: blatant discrimination and unadulterated ignorance.
As Ghaniezadeh approached the service window, the DMV representative instructed Ghaniezadeh to “remove her headgear.” Shocked at both the request itself and the use of the term “headgear” to refer to her religious head covering, Ghaniezadeh rightfully refused to remove her hijab. The representative then continued by asking her to at least push back her hijab to reveal her hairline. Again, Ghaniezadeh refused, since the request violated both DMV protocol for religious head coverings and her own sincerely held religious beliefs.
“Across California, we routinely see state employees flaunt established policy when it comes to religious head coverings. Although religious head coverings should be permitted in identification photographs, as long as the face is not obscured, we have seen Muslim women intimidated, coerced, or simply ordered to remove their hijabs,” said Civil Rights Attorney Dina Chehata for the Los Angeles office of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA).
After Ghaniezadeh refused, the representative proceeded to blatantly ignore and disregard her questions. Standing in silence, Ghaniezadeh waited for a signal from the representative that he had taken her photograph, but he refused to acknowledge her and simply handed her a form to take to the next window.
In disbelief, Ghaniezadeh expressed her concerns at the next window, where she was instructed to file a complaint.
Although Ghaniezadeh ultimately received her new driver’s license and a response to the complaint she filed with the DMV, she felt utterly disrespected and humiliated by the representative’s behavior, the repeated use of the term “headgear,” and the careless disregard for her religious beliefs, which led her to reach out to CAIR-LA’s Civil Rights team. CAIR-LA advocated on her behalf and demanded an investigation into the incident as well as mandatory training for all DMV representatives to ensure that no other person of faith would experience the same public degradation and embarrassment.
“We need this to stop, and we will keep fighting for people like Khadija to make sure that no one goes through the trauma and humiliation she went through. No person of any faith should have to live with the constant fear and anxiety that they will be stripped of their religious head covering when they are taking an identification photograph—whether that’s for their driver’s license, their REAL ID, or otherwise,” said Chehata.
As a result of CAIR-LA’s advocacy, the California DMV acknowledged that Ghaniezadeh was subjected to wrongful treatment. Moreover, it committed to a statewide training to review current procedures related to customers who wear religious head coverings and refresher training for its staff regarding superior customer service.
“In this case, we are happy that the California DMV acknowledged that Khadija should have never been asked to remove her hijab for an identification photograph,” said Chehata. “The DMV has committed to renewed training for their staff regarding religious head coverings, and I’m hopeful that all future customers can get their identification pictures taken without having their constitutional rights violated. We are all entitled to practice our sincerely held religious beliefs, and CAIR will continue to fight to make sure people know their rights.”
If you need help fighting discrimination or protecting your civil rights, please complete this form or contact CAIR-LA’s Civil Rights Department at (714) 776-1177.