A Muslim man was denied a job at Greater Stockholm Transport Authority (Stockholms Lokaltrafik, SL). The reason was that the man had made it clear that he put his Muslim faith before Swedish values ​​of equality. According to Muslims, women are inferior to men. For example, he refused to shake hands with women. But now the man is supported by Sweden's Equality Commissioner (DO), according to whom misogyny in the workplace is allowed – if religious reasons can be invoked.

A Muslim fundamentalist man applied for a job as a security guard at the Greater Stockholm Transport Authority and was scheduled for a job interview. But when she told the employer before the interview that she could not consider treating women as equals because of her religion, the interview was cancelled.

Defending misogyny The man felt that he had been discriminated against and filed a complaint with the equality commissioner, and the authority sided with the man.

In their statement, they criticize the company and say it was wrong not to let the man in for an interview. According to the Commissioner for Equality, Muslims' misogyny takes precedence over respect for Swedish values ​​of equality.

The man argued in his complaint that looking down on women for religious reasons should not be considered a problem. This was because he didn't think he needed to shake hands with women in his job.

Suur-Stockholm Liikenne disagreed and said that such situations can of course occur with a security guard and that it is a problem and against the company's neutrality policy to regard women as inferior beings in general. In light of #MeToo, they thought they had justice on their side.

Islam wins gender equality But refusing to greet women as a manifestation of misogyny is not a reason to deny anyone a job. “If misogyny can be connected to the religious beliefs of Muslims, it must be allowed,” says the Commissioner for Equality and justifies the special right in his decision as follows:

“Touching is something that is not comfortable for all people, and there is no reason to demand a handshake in particular, because there are other ways to greet respectfully that do not involve physical contact”

The information found on the equality commissioner's website does not indicate whether the company is obliged to pay compensation to the Muslim man.

Opposite decision in the previous case The decision marks a change of direction for the authority. In previous similar disputes, it has sided with the employer.

In 2016, the Equality Commissioner received a complaint in which a man felt that he had been discriminated against when he applied for a job as an integration counselor at an integration center for young immigrants, but he was denied a job. The man said that because of the Muslim view of women, he does not greet women by shaking hands, although he had no problem doing so with men.

The equality commissioner then said that it was not wrong to deny the man a job. The employer's requirement that employees be able to touch people of both sexes “is not unreasonable,” they said. In the decision given now, the same authority takes a completely opposite position.

Source: Samnytt