Woman Denied Flight After Refusing To Remove Hijab

An Indonesian woman says that airport security ordered her to remove her hijab in order to board a flight to London. The woman claims that staff discriminated against her.

According to Coconuts Jakarta, Aghnia Adzkia, a Muslim citizen of Indonesia, was flying to London from Ciampino Airport in Rome, when she claims she was discriminated against by airport staff, who ordered her to remove her hijab in accordance with security protocol. 

Adzkia refused to remove her hijab and filmed part of her exchange with staff, in which she asked to see the law that states hijab must be removed while going through a security check. The officers continued to tell her that they would not let her get to her gate unless she complied.

Aghnia shared a detailed account of the incident in a post on her Facebook page.

“I AM A MUSLIM HIJABI, NOT A TERRORIST!” She wrote in the post. “I was shocked to witness how Italian airport security officers in Roma Ciampino have treated me indecently, asking me to take my hijab off for security checking as I was getting ready to take a flight to London on Sunday.”

She continued, “‘Why should I take off my hijab?’ I asked. They replied it was for the security reasons. However, I wasn’t prepared to trust them unless they could cite me a law or provide me with a legal document that saying they were authorised to have to check what is underneath of my hijab. To make it clear, they asked me to follow one lady to a private room to checking my hijab. But for me, this is not just about whether I want to show my head/hair or not (albeit in front of a lady). This is beyond that: it is a matter of human dignity and rights. For what reason were they asked me to take off my hijab?”

“A male security officer dragged me out of the security checking area in an indecent way (he took my bag without asking my permission and shouted at me to be quiet),” she added. “I tried to negotiate again with them about the legality of the check but the lady just shouted to me, ‘I’ve shown you, if you do not know Italian language…You can’t touch me, You are not safe. You could hide something in your hair. If you don’t take it off, we do not know if there’s something inside, okay? You are not safe for us.'”

Adzkia says that later that night, she booked a ticket for a flight to London out of a different airport in Rome, Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport. She says that while at that airport, she was asked once again to remove her hijab and this time, chose to comply and remove it to “prove to them that I have nothing to hide and that I am not a terrorist.”

She wrote, “In the meantime, I saw two nuns wearing headscarves, but they weren’t asked to take them off. Is this what you call fair treatment and respect? Where are my human rights?”

According to The Sun, the operator of Ciampino Airport in Rome released a statement regarding the incident.

The statement reads:

“What happened to Ms Aghnia Adzkia solely and exclusively concerns compliance with safety procedures. The passenger, when passing the security gates, set off an alarm in the head area and it was therefore necessary to investigate the case, which could not be overlooked.

For this reason, our staff asked her to go through to a private room, where they could check her head and headdress, as is strictly required by European and national laws, the purpose of which is to ensure safety and civil cohabitation.

When Ms Aghnia refused to remove her headdress, requesting to read the legislation, she was shown the National Security Programme, which was promptly translated into English by our staff. Further to her continued refusal, our staff were forced to move the passenger away from the control area.

Ms Aghnia subsequently returned to that area (and, on that occasion, filmed the video) and then left Ciampino airport. She later departed from Fiumicino airport on another flight, passing through security without any issues, this time removing her headdress.

We are truly sorry for the fact that the young passenger had a negative experience whilst travelling via Ciampino airport. At the same time, however, we reiterate that what happened is completely unrelated to any form of discrimination.

The passenger simply did not wish to comply with basic security requirements, which are implemented with due care and sensitivity by our staff, in the interests of safety for all passengers, including Ms Aghnia Adzkia.”

Sources: Coconuts Jakarta, The Sun / Photo Credit: Facebook via The Sun