At Multnomah County Jail, Abuelhawa was separated from the other protesters after refusing to take off hijab and have a man pat her down. I told them, “I’m a Muslim woman, I can’t remove my hijab in public especially since there are men in the room.” She was escorted to a jail cell by two female officers who took off my hijab and checked my hair.

Instead of returning the hijab, the women took it out of the jail and left her there for four hours. “Three male cops returned to fingerprint me and take a mugshot of me without my hijab. Then 4 or 5 men escorted me to a solitary cell and left me for another 3 hours,” Abuelhawa said.

Aya Beydoun, an attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, suggests that Abuelhawa would have a strong case if she chooses to sue. Beydoun has worked on over 12 cases involving police forcing Muslim women to remove their hijabs. She said it’s illegal as well as deeply unsettling, offensive and culturally disrespectful.

After speaking about her ordeal, Abuelhawa said, “I remind myself everyday that my people in Gaza are going through so much worse. I don’t have the option to be a victim.”

[…]

While in jail Abuelhawa said she “was not given water, food or a phone call. Over seven hours later they let me out of the cell. They then gave me a pork sandwich while I had to wait another 90 minutes until they released me later in the evening.”