Netherlands: laying off a Muslim woman refusing to shake the hand of her male colleagues is justified

fired, in 2006, Samira Dahri, a 23-year-old economy professor of Muslim faith. The judge ruled that the dismissal based on her refusal to shake the hands of her male colleagues wasn’t discrimination because “the standards of the host country take precedence.” (Ref. 090529)

Allowed to wear the veil at work, the young woman wrote an email to the school during the summer break saying she would no longer shake the hand of her male colleagues, and she was fired in September. The director of the schoo