(HuffPost) When Yonkers, New York, police demanded Ihsan Malkawi remove her hijab for her booking photograph, the 42-year-old Muslim woman became distraught.
She tried through tears to explain to the officers that she wore her hijab for religious reasons and it was not a fashion accessory. She explained to them that she does not take it off for photographs or be seen without it by any male members that aren’t her family.
The officers didn’t budge. They told Malkawi that the law required her to remove her hijab and be photographed without it. That’s not true, according to Malkawi’s attorneys. But at the time, Malkawi didn’t feel as if she had a choice. She took her hijab off only to have it taken away for photos, a night in jail and a court appearance.
