Hijab-wearing US Muslim girl evicted from bus

LOS ANGELES: A 15-year-old Muslim American girl says she was evicted from a school bus by a driver twice because of her hijab prompting her family to demand an apology from the school district.

Janna Bakeer, who attends Timpview High School in Provo City Utah, tried to ride a bus home when the driver used the bus’s intercom system and said: “Hey you with the blue hair thing, get off the bus; you don’t belong here,” according to Randall Spencer the family’s lawyer, PTI reported.

“It’s (hijab) a part of who I am and where I come from and a part of my religion. Every day I match my hijab with my outfits,” Bakeer was quoted as saying by ABC News affiliate WBND LD.

Bakeer felt humiliated and started to cry as she got off the bus. 

“I was just really embarrassed how everybody was staring.”

The family said they talked with the school to get things worked out for the next time she needed to ride the bus, which happened last Friday. 

“I asked her politely: “Can I please ride the bus today. The driver just put her arm and blocked the walkway to the bus,” Bakeer said.

“I absolutely believe that it was discrimination,” said the family’s attorney. 

The bus driver didn’t even know Janna’s name; we don’t think and could not have checked or known she was not on the list to ride the bus,” Spencer was quoted as saying.

All the bus driver knew is that she didn’t know her before and she was a Muslim wearing a hijab,” he said. 

The incident comes amid a series of such cases of intimidation and assault that have been reported across the country atrgeting hijab-clad women following Trump’s win.