PTI, Chicago :A 32-year-old Muslim woman has accused a US department store of discrimination after she was asked to leave the retail outlet for wearing the traditional Islamic veil or the ‘niqab’.Sarah Safi, from Gary, Indiana, was wearing a ‘niqab’, a veil that covers the face, leaving only the area around the eyes clear, when she entered a Family Dollar store.The incident, which was captured on cell phone video and took place in front of Safi’s children, began when she stopped at the store on Monday to purchase charcoal for a family barbecue.”I might have made it 10 steps into the store and I hear the lady behind the counter say, ‘Ma’am, you need to take that off your face or you need to leave my store,'” Safi told WLS-TV.At that point, Safi began to record the exchange on her cell phone.She told the clerk that she wears a niqab and hijab for religious purposes but the clerk, who identified herself as the manager, insisted that Safi should leave.”I understand, but you have to understand too this is a high crime area and we get robbed a lot. You need to remove that from your face or remove yourself from the store,” the clerk said.”I told her this country is a country of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and I have a right to wear whatever I want,” Safi said.
