A young Muslim woman in Sweden has spoken to SBS News about the deeply hurtful moment she was shown the door after refusing to shake hands with a male manager during a job interview because of her faith, saying she cried for hours after.
Farah Alhajeh, 24, was interviewing for a job as an interpreter at Semantix, a language services company, in the city of Uppsala, north of Stockholm, in May 2016, when the person conducting the interview offered to introduce her to a male boss.
Instead of shaking his hand, Ms Alhajeh placed her hand on her heart as a greeting, smiled, and explained that she avoided physical contact because she was Muslim.
At this point the interview was shut down and Ms Alhajeh was shown the elevator.
I was just thinking, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Farah Alhajeh
"I was really shocked," Ms Allhajeh told SBS News.
"I felt the tears going up so fast to my eyes and I was just thinking 'don't cry, don't cry, don't cry'."
When she tried to discuss the issue with those at Semantix, Ms Allhajeh claims she was told that a "bacteria phobia" would have been an acceptable reason for her refusal to shake hands but not her faith.
"I just started crying and crying for hours, I was so shocked when that happened. I had been a practicing Muslim for a year-and-a-half so I hadn't been practicing my religion for that long, so this was a shock to me."
The incident prompted the Swedish Discrimination Ombudsman to take the case to the Labour Court.
On Wednesday, the court ruled the company had discriminated against Ms Alhajeh and ordered Semantix pay 40,000 kronor, or about $AU6,000, in compensation.
The court rule that Ms Alhajeh's refusal to shake hands on religious grounds was protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.
I wanted justice and that's what I got. Farah Alhajeh
The company argued both men and women are treated equally and refusing to shake hands with colleagues of the opposite sex went against its policy, according to The Local.
But Ms Alhajeh argued in situations where both women and men are present, in order to adhere to the teachings of Islam she greets both in the same manner by placing her hand on her heart and smiling.
The court also ruled that Ms Alhajeh's greeting of choice would not have to lead to conflicts in the workplace, according to the publication.
"The court struck a balance between the interest of gender equality and religious freedom in the workplace," Martin Mork, who lead litigation at the ombudsman's office told the New York Times.
Ms Allahjeh said she was pleased with the outcome, which was "never, ever" about money.
"It felt great of course because that's what I wanted, I know that they treated me bad and I wanted justice and that's what I got," Ms Allhajeh said.
She now hopes other members of all minority groups, not just Muslim women, who have faced similar discrimination can find the strength to fight for what they believe in.
"A lot of people told me 'you will lose this case' and I thought I would lose this case, but I just kept going because I think it's so important, it's so important to keep going because when you know that someone has discriminated you or treated you wrong the right thing is to not give in," Ms Allhajeh said.
"You should always, always fight for what you believe in, as long as you are not hurting anyone else you should fight for it," she said.
