Sarah Safi, 32, said she had experienced discrimination at a Family Dollar store in Gary, Indiana, where she went to purchase charcoal for a family barbecue.
The woman said she was kicked out of the store for wearing a niqab and hijab, and she caught part of the exchange on video.
“I might have made it 10 steps into the store and I hear the lady behind the counter say, ‘Ma’am, you need to take that off your face or you need to leave my store, ‘” Safi said.
Safi recorded the incident on her cellphone when she told the woman behind the counter who said she was the manager, that she dresses this way for her religion.
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“I understand, ” the manager said, “But you have to understand too this is a high-crime area and we get robbed a lot. You need to remove that from your face or remove yourself from the store.”
Safi said it was her religious freedom to wear the dress, and the manager threatened to call the police. Safi returned to her car, where her four children were waiting, she said, rather than deal with the police.
“I’m really saddened. I was born here, raised here all my life and I’ve never been to an establishment and been treated like this, ” Safi said, according to abc7chicago.
