The Milan appeals court on Thursday
ruled a firm was being discriminatory when it refused to hire an
Italian woman of Egyptian origins who refused to take off her
Islamic veil.
The plaintiff, a 24-year-old devout Muslim named Sara from
the Milan-area town of Melegnano, was born in Italy of Egyptian
parents.
In 2013 she was explicitly excluded from a selection for
young women to hand out flyers at the MICAM shoe fair because
she said that if hired, she would not be willing to remove her
hijab - an Islamic veil covering the hair, ears and neck.
Sara, then a university student, had answered an ad from
Imola-based Evolution Events seeking two "hostesses" to hand out
flyers on behalf of a company exhibiting at the MICAM fair.
She sent a photo of herself wearing the hijab, and the
company asked her in an email whether she would be willing to
uncover her hair. She said no, explaining she wore the veil for
religious reasons.
When Evolution refused to send her out as a job applicant,
Sara sued for discrimination based on religion and gender in the
city of Lodi.
Evolution's defence was that it has the right to select
workers based on esthetic and image-related prerequisites.
Sara's lawyers replied that such prerequisites can only
legitimately require the applicant to contravene religious
precepts in cases when this would be essential to the job, and
the sacrifice being imposed must be proportionate to the
company's interests.
The Lodi court turned Sara down, saying the prospective job
did not just entail handing out flyers but also making one's
image available, and that image had to conform to the
prospective employer's needs.
Today the Milan appeals court overturned the lower court in
Lodi and sentenced Evolution to pay Sara 500 euros in damages.
"This is a very important ruling, because it recognizes
that the right to religious identity is an essential element of
democratic societies and must always be guaranteed, including
when it entails the sacrifice of an employer's other but not as
relevant requirements - such as esthetic ones".
Sara, meanwhile, has moved to London.
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