Muslim women win payout after New York police forced them to remove headscarves

New York police have changed their guidelines to give detainees wearing a religious head covering the option of having their photograph taken in private by a police officer of the same gender.

A Muslim teacher has been banned from wearing her headscarf in Germany.

A Muslim teacher has been banned from wearing her headscarf in Germany. Source: AAP

The city of New York on Wednesday agreed to pay $180,000 to three Muslim women forced by police to remove their headscarves to have mugshots taken, officials said.

Each of the women is to receive $60,000 after the settlements were finalised in a Brooklyn federal court earlier this week, their lawyer Tahanie Aboushi said.

Two of the them were arrested in 2015 and one in 2012. All three incidents took place in Brooklyn, New York's most populous borough, she added. 

The women sued the city and the New York Police Department, the largest city police force in the United States, which was represented by the city's law department.

New York police have since changed their guidelines to give detainees wearing a religious head covering the option of having their photograph taken in private by a police officer of the same gender.

"It's a step in the right direction and it was a collaborative effort to address a gap in the patrol guide," Ms Aboushi told AFP.

"The resolution of these matters were in the best interest of all parties involved," Kimberly Joyce, a spokeswoman for the city of New York's law department, said.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world