Inquiry into Religious Discrimination Bill hears shocking story of woman fired for wearing a hijab

Speaking on behalf of the Australian National Imams Council, Bilal Rauf told the inquiry the young pharmacist was instructed not to wear her hijab at work because it would offend the residents of the Eastern Sydney suburb where the pharmacy was located.

“A female who was a pharmacist, during the course of her employment, decided to wear the hijab,” Mr Rauf said.

“This was at a place in the eastern suburbs and she was told in very clear terms: ‘look, around here, people don’t like this thing, so if you want to wear the hijab that’s a matter for you, but I won’t be able to keep you on here’.”

Mr Rauf said the woman refused to stop wearing her hijab at work and was subsequently forced by her boss to resign from her position.

“She ended up losing her employment because she had no choice or ability to do anything about that,” he said.

The woman refused to stop wearing her hijab and was subsequently forced to resign from the Pharmacy. George Frey/Getty Images/AFP

The shocking story comes amid hot debate in Australia about the need for a Religious Discrimination Bill.

While some argue that the bill will simply offer protection from discriminatory acts like those suffered by the Muslim pharmacist, others hold grave concerns that the bill will provide a loophole for people and organisations of faith to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people.

Mr Rauf said the National Imams Council – Australia’s largest Muslim advocacy organisation – supported the proposed bill.

“So many other attributes relating to a person‘s identity are protected, acknowledged and recognised,” he said.

“With Australian Muslims, so often they are identifiable by what many women, for instance, choose to wear their hijab, men grow the beard, or they attend congregational prayers.

“It’s an extraordinary position that that part of their identity, not only is not protected, but not acknowledged at law.”

Three hundred and forty nine incidents of Islamophobia have been reported in Australia over the past 24 months. Picture: iStock

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils head Keysar Trad told the inquiry that discrimination and abuse of Muslim people was rife in Australia, citing 349 incidents of reported Islamophobia over the past 24 months alone.

“Cases are reported regularly of Muslim women and Muslim youths getting harassed or beaten,” Mr Trad said.

“There was one case of a (Muslim) lady who was beaten up in a cafe in Parramatta a couple of years ago.”

Mr Trad recalled one incident where an unnamed Australian “shock jock” journalist referred to Islamic people as “vermin”, but faced no consequences due to the lack of legal protection against religious slander.

“We found after a very long process appeals going all the way to the Court of Appeal and going back and forth between the tribunal and the courts, that Muslims don’t have protection,” he said.

But opponents of the Religious Discrimination Bill say religious protection laws under the bill in its current form could seriously contradict the basic rights and freedoms of other groups in Australian society.

LGBTQ+ groups hold grave concerns that the Religious Discrimination Bill will provide a loophole for discrimination against LGBTQ+ Australians. Picture: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

Greens Senator Janet Rice recited a number of disturbing incidents of discrimination and abuse of disabled and LGBTQ+ Australians, which she said would become legal and defensible under the new bill.

“A patient with HIV was told by a religious medical professional that aids were the punishment from God,” she said.

“A (Muslim) taxi driver told a person with a visual impairment that their guide dog was unclean.

“Legal experts say that, under this legislation, statements like that, because they would be genuinely held statements of faith, would be legal and would be permitted.”

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights is expected to continue its inquiry into the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill until at least January 14, 2022.