A Muslim woman who works as a hostess at a Disneyland restaurant in California has alleged that the theme park would not allow her to appear in front of customers while wearing her headscarf.
Imane Boudlal, 26, appeared outside the resort's Grand Californian Hotel after filing a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
She said when she wore the hijab to work on Sunday, her supervisors told her to remove it, work where customers could not see her, or go home.
Ms Boudlal, who wore the scarf in observance of Ramadan, chose to go home but reported to work for the next two days and was told the same thing.
Ramadan is the Islamic holy month of fasting.
'If you can put a head scarf on your doll for the Small World (ride), let me wear my head scarf and come to my job,' Ms Boudlal told reporters.
Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the resort offered Ms Boudlal a chance to work wearing the head scarf away from customers, while Disneyland tried to find a compromise that would allow her to cover her head in a way that fits with her hostess uniform.
'Typically, somebody in an on-stage position like hers wouldn't wear something like that, that's not part of the costume,' Brown said.
Ms Brown said Disney had 'a long history of non-discrimination'.
Ms Boudlal, who is a native of Morocco, has worked at the Storyteller restaurant at the hotel for over two years but only realised she could wear her hijab to work after studying for her US citizenship exam in June, said Ameena Qazi, an attorney from the Council on American-Islamic Relations who is consulting with Ms Boudlal.
She asked her supervisors if she could wear the scarf and was told they would consult with the corporate office, Ms Qazi said.
Ms Boudlal did not hear anything for two months and was then told she could wear a head scarf, but it had to be designed by Disneyland's costume department to comply with the Disney look, Ms Qazi said.
She was fitted for a Disney-supplied head scarf but was not given a date when the garment would be finished and was told she could not wear her own hijab in the interim.
Ms Boudlal wore her own hijab to work for the first time on Sunday.
'I'm not here to scare anybody,' said Ms Boudlal. 'I'm just here to wear my head scarf and to work and keep my job.'
