Friday 15 May 2009

Not Selling the Abaya

Should waitress wear skimpy outfits and act all flirty with men?
One restaurant chain thinks so. Hooters is going to absurd and insulting lengths to patronize backward habits of the west by forcing its female waitresses to dress and behave in a stereotype of subservient Western women. When waitress Lana Assam stood up to the policy, she was fired.
Hooters employees were informed of the policy previously. In addition to wearing the traditional skin tight top and shorts, the policy stated that, "it is expected that female act in a way that entices our core demograph, males 18-30 to cum for more then the food."
To Miss Assam this was outrageous. "I am a proud Saudi woman and I don't want to be demeaned in this way," she told us in an exclusive interview. "I'm a Muslim, and I'm proud to be Saudi." Miss Assam hastened to add that this was not a clash of civilizations but a labor dispute over a sexually discriminatory policy. "This is not a political statement or promotion of one belief over another," she said. "We're living in the 21st century here. Any woman told to be open with men will be outraged, don't you think?"
Miss Assam union representative told her the top & shorts were considered "an item of uniform" and that refusal to wear it should be treated as "a potential disciplinary matter." Miss Assam went to great lengths to avoid coming into conflict with the policy. She asked not to be scheduled to go to the dinning area, but that would remove her from all money making areas, which effectively would cut her salary by a third. When her time finally came to serve, she refused, and was suspended.
Ten months of what Miss Assam refers to as "administrative bullying" ensued before she was dismissed in April 2008. "I started standing up for myself," she said, "and I don't think they liked it." She appealed her case but a labor tribunal accepted Hooters argument that the chain introduced the requirements "entirely from the need to conform to local customs, practices and law in the west."
Hooters should help usher the west into the modern age by setting an example of equality and tolerance rather than pandering to discriminatory practices.

Link to the story

2 comments:

  1. This place is disgusting anyway, so why would she even apply for a job there! Not all women in the west are easy and agree with this stuff! However I put up with it because the great thing about the US is EVERYONE has a choice. I would rather put up with all the bad choices than be told what I can wear and with whom I can socialize with and whether I can drive or work! I do respect her views though and I understand where she is coming from! She does have a choice not to work there. There are plenty of other respectable jobs out there for women in the US including Miss Assam. She knew what the place was like before she got a job there and what they stood for! Obviously for the most part the women who work there don't mind being sex objects for men! Good for them its their choice and they will be judged accordingly by god. I respect their choice so that I can have my own choices. Thats what America is about! I think its wrong but this is their choice!

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  2. why the heck would a saudi MUSLIM women want to work for hooters anyways, that women is clearly an idiot

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