(Atlanta Journal-Constitution) A Muslim woman has filed a discrimination complaint against the Georgia Department of Corrections, alleging the agency violated her religious beliefs by not allowing her to wear a hijab at work.
In the complaint filed with the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity, Jalanda Calhoun, a 25-year-old corrections officer at Rogers State Prison in Reidsville and a recent convert to Islam, says she told her supervisors earlier this year that she would start wearing the hijab, a scarf that would cover her hair, ears and neck, and asked to be able to take a 10-minute break to pray.
“Both my job and my religion are very important to me,” said Calhoun, who lives in Tattnall County, where the all-male prison is located. “I never thought I would have to choose between” the two.
