Palestinian asylum seeker fired for wearing headscarf on her first day as an intern at a German mayor’s office
She was sacked when she refused to remove the scarf after being told she had "injured the neutrality" of the workplace
A PALESTINIAN asylum seeker has been fired from her intern job in Germany – for wearing a headscarf on her first day.
The woman was told she had “injured the neutrality” of the workplace with her traditional Muslim dress.
The 48-year-old was then sacked after just one day in her role at the town hall in Luckenwalde near Berlin when she refused to remove the scarf.
Luckenwalde Mayoress Elisabeth Herzog-von der Heide said of her decision: “The Islamic headscarf is a means of expression of religious belief in a place where we have neutrality. We don’t allow crucifixes on the wall here either.”
The Palestinian woman had signed on for a six week course entitled “Perspectives for Refugees” when she was given her marching orders on day one.
The mayoress, a member of the centre left SPD party, said it was a mistake to hire her in the first place if she was not willing to remove the scarf.
Local CDU conservative MP Sven Petke said: “There is no basis in law for this decision.”
He pointed out that Germany’s Supreme Court had not made a ruling banning such clothing.
But a member of the hard-right anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party (AfD), Thomas Jung, said: “You can’t have special privileges for Muslims if you can’t have a crucifix on the wall.
“The mayor deserves respect and not scolding for her difficult decision.”
Four cops stood over the middle aged woman, who had been quietly sunbathing on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice – just yards away from the scene of the Bastille Day lorry attack, and made her remove a modesty garment on the spot.
It is understood she was given a warning about how to dress on the beach and given a fine.
Just hours earlier three armed cops pointed a pepper spray canister in the face of a 34-year-old mum in Cannes and told her she was in breach of a new rule outlawing swimming costumes that cover the entire body.
She said the “racist” officers simply wanted to humiliate her in front of her children and other family members, even though she was not even wearing a Burkini.
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