New York City Settles Lawsuit Over Hijab Removals for $17.5 Million

New York City has agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by more than 3,600 women who were forced to remove their hijabs for mug shots, their lawyers and advocates announced on Friday. The lawsuit, which was initially filed in 2018 by Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz, alleged that the NYPD violated their rights by making them remove their religious head coverings.

The settlement, which still needs to be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case, will provide payments of approximately $7,000 to $13,000 to the eligible class members. Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, called the settlement a milestone for New Yorkers' privacy and religious rights, stating that the NYPD should never have stripped these religious New Yorkers of their head coverings and dignity.

The lawsuit detailed the experiences of Clark and Aziz, who were arrested for violating bogus protective orders and were forced to remove their hijabs for mug shots. Clark, in particular, described feeling exposed and violated when the NYPD officer took her photo while she wept and begged to put her covering back on.

In response to the lawsuit, the NYPD changed its policy in 2020 to allow all arrestees to retain their religious head coverings, with limited exceptions. City officials initially defended the practice of forcing people to remove head coverings for mug shots, but the settlement is seen as a positive reform for the department.

O. Andrew F. Wilson, a lawyer representing the women, stated that forcing someone to remove their religious clothing is like a strip search, emphasizing the profound harm to the dignity of those who wear religious head coverings that comes from forced removal. Once approved, the settlement funds will be divided equally among the eligible class members, with a guaranteed minimum payment of $7,824 for each person.