New York to pay $17.5m in lawsuit for forcing women to remove hijab
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After the deduction of legal fees, the payout will be around $13.1 million, which could increase if enough of the over 3,600 eligible class members submit their claims.
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A woman arrives to vote at a polling station, Tuesday, November 6, 2018, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP)
In a lawsuit filed by two Muslim women, the city of New York will pay $17.5 million to settle for violating their rights after arresting them and forcing them to remove their hijabs before being photographed.
The preliminary class action settlement was filed on Friday in the Manhattan federal court after having required approval by the US District Judge Analisa Torres.
After the deduction of legal fees, the payout will be around $13.1 million, which could increase if enough of the over 3,600 eligible class members submit their claims; each recipient will be paid between $7,824 and $13,125.
The lawsuit was filed in 2018 by Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz, whom police forced to remove their hijabs for their mugshots the previous year, allegedly for violating orders of protection. Their lawyers compared removing the hijabs to being strip-searched.
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Women forced to remove head coverings between March 16, 2014 and August 23, 2021 qualify for the settlement.
New York paid the price
In a statement by her lawyers, Clark said, “When they forced me to take off my hijab, I felt as if I were naked... I’m not sure if words can capture how exposed and violated I felt.”
In response to the class action suit, New York’s police department agreed in 2020 to let men and women wear head coverings during mugshots, as long as their faces remain visible.
Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesperson for the city’s law department, stated, “This settlement resulted in a positive reform for the NYPD,” noting, “The agreement carefully balances the department’s respect for firmly held religious beliefs with the important law enforcement need to take arrest photos.”
It is permitted for police to temporarily remove head coverings to search for weapons or contraband ,but only in private settings and by officers of the same gender.
Albert Fox Cahn, a lawyer for both women, said the accord “sends a powerful message that the NYPD can’t violate New Yorkers’ first amendment rights without paying a price.”
