Video: Tenn. Muslim Student Barred From Parade Over Hijab (CAIR) - YouTube CAIRtv

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - A freshman at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood could not march in the school's homecoming parade last month because of her religious head scarf. Demin Zawity, a Muslim, was a member of the Junior ROTC program. "I was like, you've got to be kidding me. I wanted to just break down crying right there," Zawity said when she learned the news. The 14-year-old's head scarf covers her entire head and Army policy states that is inconsistent attire for an official uniformed ceremony, such as a parade. "They're telling me I'm not allowed to march in the parade just because of a piece of cloth wrapped around my head. And to me it's not like it's just a piece of cloth, to me, it's like my symbol," Zawity said. When the teen's mother, Perishan Hussein, learned of the Army's policy she contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C. The organization sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense asking him to amend the policy on religious head scarf's. Hussein is hopeful her daughter's situation can bring about change. "It's the American process. We make rules, regulations, laws, and later on down the line we find out they may not work, so we make amendments to change those laws," Hussein said. The JROTC program is an elective at Ravenwood and is sanctioned by Williamson County Schools, but not run by a faculty member. When the program was started at the school, the district agreed to abide by the Army's rules for the JROTC members. "We're going to follow the military's regulations. They establish the regulations and we abide by them, we stand firm with the decision we made and we're moving forward," said Dr. Mike Looney, director of Williamson County Schools. Although Zawity was not able to march with her friends during homecoming, the freshman said she has learned a lesson from this incident. "This has definitely made me stronger, it's definitely made me learn to look at the positives, instead of the negatives," the teenager said. She also hopes the Army will amend its policy so other Muslim women will not have go through what she experienced. "Because Muslims are here in America, Muslims are going to want to join the Army, and Muslim women are going to want to join the Army and they should have the right to wear their head scarf and there not be a problem," said Zawity. The freshman said she has not experienced any backlash from students of staff at Ravenwood High School since her story became public.

Video: Tenn. Muslim Student Barred From Parade Over Hijab (CAIR) - YouTube
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Non-profits & Activism	Upload TimePublished on 20 Oct 2011