On October 6, Sumayyah Wyatt, a seven-year-old who attends Seth Boyden Elementary School in Maplewood, New Jersey, had her hijab yanked off her head by her teacher against her will during class.
WABC-TV reported that Sumayyah’s family is outraged after finding out that the little girl was told by her teacher to take her hijab off. When Sumayyah refused, the teacher proceeded to forcefully remove the hijab off of her head.
“Ultimately, the teacher succeeds in pulling the hijab off her head, followed by a bizarre statement which is, ‘Your hair is beautiful,’” then the family’s attorney said. “It is incredibly disturbing. It is very, very symbolic of disregard of her religion and certainly something that has affected my clients overall.”
Sumayyah’s mother, Cassandra, said the incident has caused her daughter to be resistant to Muslim attire.
“I have to go introduce her to a different world that I’ve been trying to protect her from,” Cassandra said. “She had to know that was a hijab; she has to pay for that. I’d love for her to apologize to my daughter, and then my daughter would feel better.”
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The teacher’s representing attorney responded to the accusations and denied them, saying that the teacher was unaware that Sumayyah was wearing a hijab.
“In accordance with school policy, (the teacher) directed a student in her class to pull down the hood on what appeared to be a hooded sweatshirt because it was blocking her eyes – and immediately rescinded that request when she realized that the student was wearing the hood in place of, rather than on top of, her usual hijab,” the lawyer said.
The attorney added that the accusations have “caused tremendous harm to (the teacher) – a teacher who, after more than 30 years of devoting her heart and soul to children of all backgrounds, has now had to ask for police protection.”
The school district is reportedly investigating the incident as a possible act of discrimination.
