Religious Expression and Fashion
The First Amendment protects freedom of religion and freedom of expression, but what about religious expression? The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case where religious expression and company policy clash. When a 17-year-old Muslim woman applied to work at Abercrombie and Fitch, her applicant score was downgraded because she wore a headscarf to her interview. Abercrombie argues that wearing caps is against their “Look Policy” and that Samantha Elauf should have asked for an accommodation. Elauf argues that Abercrombie broke the law banning religious discrimination in employment. Listen to learn more about this First Amendment debate.
Update: The Supreme Court ruled in an 8-to-1 decision in favor of a Muslim woman who was denied a job because of her headscarf.
Read MoreDriving Ban for Women Lifted in Saudi Arabia
Women will soon be allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. For decades the monarchy in Saudi Arabia forbid women from driving and other activities. Now the young crown prince has relaxed many restrictions on women as part of larger reforms in efforts to modernize the Middle Eastern country. There have been protests of the driving ban, including in 1990 when forty women drove the streets of the capital and lost their jobs. Listen to this story to hear more about the changes coming to Saudi Arabia.
Read MoreWomen in Iran Protest Wearing Headscarves
Since 1985, women in Iran have been required by the Islamic Republic to wear a headscarf called a hijab in public, regardless of their religious beliefs. Today Iranian women are protesting this mandatory law. Police have arrested 29 women for publicly protesting the veil covering. This silent protest includes women taking off their headscarves and holding them on sticks in silent protest. Listen to hear more about this protest and its effects.
Read More
Iranians took to the streets in angry protest after government leaders admitted to accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing everyone aboard. The protest came just days after Iranian citizens had gathered on the streets to condemn the killing of their beloved general, Soleimani, by the Americans. Listen to hear why protesters are angry with their supreme leader and how the government is responding to the unrest.
Read MoreCURRENT EVENT | October 17, 2022
Widespread protests have erupted in Iran after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died in a hospital due to alleged police brutality. She had been arrested by the morality police, a military group that enforces the Islamic state’s strict dress code. In this interview, a young Iranian chess player and medical student now living in the U.S. shares her own past experience with the morality police after her head covering, or hijab, had slipped down in public. Listen to hear the details of her story and her hopes for change in Iran.
Story Length: 6:24
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10/08/2022
https://app.listenwise.com/students/events/2403-chess-champ-reflects-on-protests-in-iran
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