Discrimination at Sabiha Gökçen Airport: Yes to the niqab, no to the hat

Journalist and author Sedef Kabaş wrote about the discrimination she experienced at Sabiha Gökçen Airport on her social media account. Kabaş stated that she was asked to remove her hat for security reasons, while those wearing a niqab were not challenged. Kabaş wrote the following:

"YES TO THE NIQAB, NO TO THE HAT! I am going through security at the airport... In front of me is a woman in a black niqab from head to toe... She passed through the X-ray device and left... It was my turn... The security officer told me, 'Take off your hat.' I asked, 'Why?' They said, 'Your face needs to be visible.' I said, 'Fair enough, but you didn't tell the woman before me to uncover her head or face.' The response was very interesting... They said, 'She is a covered woman, your hair is showing!' I said, 'So the issue is religion, not security?'... Upon this, they continued, 'You could be hiding something in your hat'... I said, 'Well, a woman with a covered head could hide something too.' They said, 'If the X-ray beeps, we search them too.' I said, 'That is exactly the point; if that is the case, why do you tell us to take off our hats beforehand? Let us pass, and if the device beeps, then you can make us uncover our heads.' There was a deep silence in the area... My goal is not to bypass security or anything, we will do whatever is necessary for precautions... But if there is discrimination, we will expose it..."