Like a modern-day Rosa Parks, Imane Boudlal is suing Disney after being told she had to work at the back of the castle because of her hajib, a traditional but not necessarily religious headscarf.
“They said, these are your options: either work in the back or go home,” alleges Boudlal. “I don’t want to be in the back. I’m a human being, I have feelings. Don’t put me in the back.”
But the company defends its actions, arguing that Boudlal’s job at Disney’s Storyteller Cafe, a themed restaurant, is an on-stage position and that the garment does not comply with the “Disney look.”
“It has to do with the costume, every role at Disneyland Resort has a specific costume,” said Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown.
Disney says it is working to provide reasonable accommodations for Boudlal such as designing an appropriate headscarf, which may have her wishing she never brought it up.
