Pakistan’s headstrong actress, Mehwish Hayat, appreciated the action of American authorities against an American airline for offloading three Muslim passengers in an act of discrimination.
In her tweet, she reiterated her stance that vilification of a particular community, in this case, Muslims has spurred Islamophobia. Mehwish Hayat asserted that there is a need to harbor tolerant attitudes over hatred and bigotry, among people.
A nice slap on the wrists.. I am glad that the US authorities have fined the airline. It is a sad state of affairs that has bought us to this. Perceptions have to change and people have to be more tolerant of one another irrespective of background, religion or appearance. https://t.co/7HXPcwT8oK
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) January 27, 2020
In two separate incidents reported in 2016, the US Department of Transportation fined Delta Airlines,$50,000 for kicking off three Muslim passengers merely on suspicion. The American Authorities claimed Delta Airlines violated the code of conduct that restricts carriers from discriminating passengers based on age, race, gender, color, origin, religion, sex or ancestry.
Read more: Mehwish Hayat dedicates Tamgha-e-Imtiaz to ‘all the other girls in Pakistan who have a dream’
Delta Airlines denied the alleged discrimination but admitted that the situation could have been handled in a better way. The airline refused to board a Muslim couple heading from Paris back home to Cincinnati; a bearded man, and his wife in a headscarf. The staff interrogated the couple after a passenger complained she felt ‘uncomfortable and nervous’ claiming that she saw the man had “inserted something plastic into his watch” and that the couple was “fidgety, nervous, and sweating.”
“It appears that but for Mr. and Mrs. X’s perceived religion, Delta would not have removed or denied them reboarding." https://t.co/LKUZH8I8BU
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 28, 2020
Despite no red flags from the couple after interrogation, the captain refused to let the couple re-board the flight and they had to fly home the next day. Another incident happened a few days later when a passenger made a similar complaint regarding a man traveling from Amsterdam to New York.
The pilot, however, decided to continue with the flight after the co-pilot cleared the man. But flight attendants insisted they felt uncomfortable with the man, forcing the captain had to remove the passenger from the plane and requested to board him on another flight.
Mehwish Hayat vociferously spoke about how two giant entertainment industries, Bollywood and Hollywood, are deliberately portraying Muslims and Pakistanis in a negative light for decades, which has brought severe repercussions for the community
It is noteworthy to remember that Delta’s corporate security office had cleared the passengers after a security check.
“This action was taken without following required Delta security protocol. Moreover, even though security inspected the area surrounding (the passenger’s) seat and his baggage was offloaded, (the passenger) was not subjected to an additional security screening before being re-booked,” the order reads.
Mehwish Hayat’s fight against discrimination
Ever since receiving the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Mehwish Hayat has initiated her fight against the vilification of Muslims in the west. Mehwish Hayat has been named among the top five Muslim women actively seeking to change the world by an acclaimed international magazine ‘Muslim Vibe’. The magazine described these women as fearlessly breaking stereotypes to change the world for the better.
Earlier, Mehwish Hayat bagged the Pride of Performance award in Norway, utilizing the platform to call out Bollywood and Hollywood for vilifying Pakistanis and Muslims as terrorists and religious extremists. Her loud and bold statement garnered the attention of various international media outlets, followed by several interviews.
Read more: Mehwish Hayat among top 5 Muslim women challenging global stereotypes
Mehwish Hayat vociferously spoke about how two giant entertainment industries, Bollywood and Hollywood, have deliberately been portraying Muslims and Pakistanis in a negative light for decades, which has brought severe repercussions for the community.
She said Hollywood demonizing Muslims and showing Pakistanis as terrorists in their movies has fuelled Islamophobia across the world. She said the west should at least research to understand what we are and how we are.