I’m not sure if it’s because of the hijab, but I do believe it must have been a factor in my getting searched by the President’s Secret Service.
When I was covering politics as a radio reporter, I was sent a few times to cover President George W. Bush when he was in Chicago. Coincidentally each time I was sent I was searched more than any of the other journalists in attendance.
How do I know this? Well because I asked my colleagues.
OK let me start from the beginning. President George W. Bush was in Chicago to stump for the Republican candidates in some local and national political races. He was speaking at the ballroom of one of the hotels and I was there to get the local angle on the story. Before anyone covers a high profile politician like the president, vice president, secretary of state etc. you have to send the White House your information in advance. I had to submit my social security number and detailed information about myself so they could place me on a list. That means they know everything about me ahead of time.
When I showed up at the event the secret service noticed I had a water bottle. I was pregnant with my first daughter at the time and I carried water with me everywhere. They asked me to drink it in front of them. I was slightly amused, but I know that airport security is just as tough so I didn’t think anything of it. Then all of a sudden they start examining my equipment which was a digital recorder, microphone and long cables that I could conect to the sound system to record the president’s speech.
The guy searching me goes and calls someone on his radio and another guy appears. They start analyzing my stuff, and I try to explain what it is. I’m confused because I see my fellow media colleagues getting through the metal detectors with all their stuff. But I’m the only one that’s stopped. I wave at one of the TV reporters and try to joke”Hey there, yeah I guess I let off the metal detector again.” Finally they let me through.
In the middle of the speech I really had to use the bathroom (pregnancy gives you the smallest bladder) and I ran out to look for it. I saw the bathroom and just before I’m about to walk over a female secret service agent pops up out of nowhere. “Ma’am I’m sorry you cannot proceed past this point.”
“I’m jut going to the restroom.”
“Ma’am I can’t allow you to got there.”
“I’m pregnang I’ve gotta go badly!”
“Sorry Ma’am you’ll have to find another restroom.”
So I end up going 4 floors down and finding a bathroom. On my way back to the ballroom I see a fellow journalist coming out of the restroom I was just told I couldn’t go in. Hmmm.
I’m sure I sound super paranoid, but this wasn’t the only time this kind of stuff happened.
The next time President George W. Bush came to town he was at a local museum for a press only event. The media were there to ask questions (which I later found out were somewhat staged, he has a seating chart with everyone’s name on it and chooses who he wants to ask a question. Trust me the raising your hand to ask a question is a joke and I felt so stupid for sitting there with it raised lol).
Anyway, so at this event I was again stopped before going inside. They brought out a dog and made me put my stuff to the side and have it sniffed. Then they scanned it through their metal detector and proceeded to ask me a million questions about it. “It’s a microphone” I kept explaining. Then before they let me in they searched my bag and made me throw out the power bar and water I had. Because the White House makes the press get there 2 hours or more before the president arrives I wanted to bring something to eat so I wouldn’t pass out. I was really miffed, but just let it slide. What made me more upset though was going inside and seeing all the other reporters with their Starbucks and pastries. I asked one of the reporters about it and she just looked at me funny, “Why would they make us throw our food out?”
It then hit me that although I was paranoid that I was being singled out due to my hijab, it was reality. There are other Muslim reporters but they don’t wear hijab and therefore the can’t relate when I tell them of my experiences. And from what I can tell because it’s quite obvious I’m a Muslim woman, whenever any type of security is involved at an event, they feel the need to do extra searches on me.
It’s to be expected I guess in the current climate in which we live: a climate of fear, suspicion and downright ignorance.
But it does make for an interesting conversation starter.
What I learned while covering politics is that no matter how local and mundane the story I usually ended up in bizarre situations like when the former governor of Illinois spoke to me slowly and loudly thinking I didn’t know English, or when U.S. Senator Dick Durbin’s building security made me do a little dance, and even how on many occasions people asked me if I was a reporter for a radio station in Iran.
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Radio in Iran
that’s funny, trust me I know exactly what your talking about!
No matter what, these things still upset me… but you can’t get anything solved when you’re angry. My sister and i are always the ones that get extra searched “randomly” I was pregnant and traveled alone once, they still super searched me, and won’t help me lift my bags, so i missed my flight, and cried my eyes out lol
I asked the security, and one was honest, she told me, shes told she has to always search us extra, and she apologized for it… so who do we blame lol
I wanna just say LAWSUIT. But what would that help. It seems like downright discrimination and its not fair. I was just in publix last week and this old polish man asked me what country I was from, I said here the u.s. Well he was not satisfied with that answer, he stayed and played with my kids for a minute and asked me AGAIN, and i told him AGAIN, and then he asked where is my husband from. Wow. And the more people talk about it the more ‘radical’ we are. But when people are robbing and stealing and raping you dont see the news labeling them as a ‘jewish bank robber’ or a ‘christian pedophile’. I guess the hood chick in me comes out when i see stuff like this cuz i always wanna take them to court!! lol!!
My daughter who was 6 at the time had us detained by homeland security at the airport once. We had to take everything out of our bags, along with sitting in a room for about an hour.
I have been asked what’s my real name before lol.
It’s Kelly lol. Yeah, but what was it before I changed it. Um, it was Kelly haha.
People are dumb sometimes. Other times someone else more than makes up for it though.
I just love how this doesn’t discourage you and how your ever so confident and still go on ahead to attend these events,really impressive
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and you have some seriously interesting experiences- totally cool!
once on the airport I was in full abaya and scarf all black and the dog started barking at me and my bro on the airline gate but officials were so sweet and laughed saying do u have fries hes hungry haha
I feel sad though that people were not nicer to a pregnant lady
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Salaamz,
I feel very angered to read about your experiences. What do your co-workers say? Has anyone of them ever stood up for you? Are they the ones who accused you of being paranoid?
Inshallah this “climate of downright ignorance” will die down eventually. It looks so very bad right now, though.
Mashallah you handled yourself very well and you are a great role model.
I can’t believe about the bathroom thing! That pisses me off to read, imagine sending a pregnant woman up 4 flights of stairs but then allowing an unveiled woman through the door. Just pure crap!
Keep your head held high!
I haven’t had any trouble thus far. They were incredibly nice at the consulate when I went to renew my passport and asked for a religious exemption not to show my ears in the photo, then when I went to the airport they did want me to remove my scarf, I told them it’s religious, it’s in my passport, he said ‘OK, my lady colleague will check you after you go through the metal detector.’ But you know what? The lady colleague never materialized
There was a nun going through at the same time 
I could see the guy who was checking me was trying to be nice, to see if I was OK or normal or whatever, and I played along with it, and it was fine. But I don’t wear abaya, and even if I did, I’d probably be OK with removing it indoors, as long as whatever I had underneath covered the requisite body parts. I can see why one would be searched extra in such circumstances. But what you are describing here is over the top. Just unimaginable.