- Dr. Sumaya Hamadmad’s arrest and strip-search at Ohio University, where she was denied her hijab for 12 hours in custody, spotlight systemic injustices against Muslim women.
- Law enforcement forcibly removing hijabs during pro-Palestine protests at universities underscores ongoing religious liberty violations for Muslim women in the US.
Dr Sumaya Hamadmad, a research scientist at Ohio State University, was arrested for “criminal trespassing” on April 25th while seated in the centre of campus.
The Ohio State Police Department hurled a baseless accusation at Hamadmad of attempting to form another encampment and arrested her when she questioned their assumptions and orders to leave. Her friend, who questioned the arrest, was also detained.
Hamadmad was taken to a Franklin County jail, where she was strip-searched and ordered to remove her hijab. Despite multiple requests, she was denied any her hijab for the 12 hours she was in custody. To maintain her modesty, she tucked her arms and hair into her shirt.
“I knew the system was broken, but I didn’t truly realize it until I experienced it,” Hamadmad said, expressing her shock at her treatment. “As much as we need to fight against our tax money funding genocide, we also need to fight against our tax money funding these broken systems of injustice in our own country.”
Hamadmad’s experience is not isolated. Multiple incidents of law enforcement forcibly removing women’s hijabs have occurred, especially during pro-Palestine protests on college campuses. Verified reports from students and faculty at Arizona State University, Columbia University, DePaul University, and Ohio State University highlight this issue.
The hijab is religiously mandatory for Muslims women. Consequently, its forced removal is humiliating and traumatising for Muslim women.
In the United States, Muslim women have a First Amendment right to wear the hijabs for religious purposes.
Interestingly, in activist circles, Muslim women have been frequently targeted by male Zionist supporters as opposed to their male counterparts. For instance, at the University of California, Los Angeles, a video went viral depicting a male Israeli supporter chanting at Muslim women, “Take off your hijab and get a job. You guys are all fat, ugly and broke.” Muslim activists have long faced violations of their religious liberties.
Jinan, a 27-year-old engineer from Maryland, was arrested in March while protesting at the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. In custody, she was ordered to remove her hijab for a mug shot.
“I felt awful, I felt violated, confused, stunned, naked. I felt the most important thing to me was taken away” said Jinan.
In another incident in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, police forced protesters at the General Dynamics facility to remove their hijabs for mug shots. Similar incidents occurred in Dallas, where women protesting US complicity in Israeli actions in Gaza were forced to remove their hijabs in view of male officers and visitors.
Hamadmad was not the only woman to face this injustice at OSU. During another encampment that evening, police arrested 36 people, including another woman whose hijab was forcibly removed. Despite multiple requests, her hijab was not returned until after she was handcuffed and transported.
A spokesperson for the OSUPD stated, “It is possible that some head coverings may have inadvertently come off while officers were attempting to arrest some individuals.” This is of course a fallacious statement, according to multiple witness statements.
While some states and the federal Bureau of Prisons have policies allowing religious head coverings, no federal law explicitly protects the right to wear a hijab during arrest or temporary detention. This inconsistency leaves Muslim women vulnerable to violations of their religious freedom.
New York City recently agreed to pay $17.5 million in a settlement after forcing two women to remove their hijabs. As a result, the NYPD changed its policy to allow people to keep their religious head coverings for mug shots and while in custody, except under special circumstances.
Hamadmad emphasised the need for legal and cultural changes to prevent such violations. Her experience in jail was a moment of betrayal, as she had fled Syria’s brutal dictatorship for the promise of freedom in America. “You can sense dictatorship when you’ve been through it, and I could sense it in that moment,” she said.
