New York City has reached a preliminary financial settlement of $17.5 million in a class action lawsuit brought by two Muslim women who alleged that their religious rights were violated when police required them to remove their hijabs for mugshots following their arrests. The settlement, which is subject to approval by a district court judge, was filed in Manhattan federal court and is set to benefit over 3,600 individuals.
The lawsuit was initiated by Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz in 2018 after they were arrested in Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively, for what they claimed were unjustified reasons. The women expressed feelings of shame and trauma due to being compelled to remove their hijabs, which hold religious significance in the Islamic faith. Their legal representatives equated the act to a form of strip-searching, with Clark stating that she felt exposed and violated during the process.
