Pop-up shop at ABC Achrafieh closes after mall allegedly asks it to dismiss hijab-wearing employee

BEIRUT — The management of Full House, a pop-up shop operating in ABC Mall in Achrafieh, has claimed that on Wednesday the mall’s management asked it to dismiss a saleswoman who wore a hijab to work. The shop said it opted to shut down instead.

Here’s what we know:

    • Full House recounted the incident to Instagram user Spatulicious, who was talking about the topic of women who wear hijabs, writing: “We have sadly been asked recently to replace a worker at our stand in ABC Achrafieh because she wears a headscarf, which is against their policy … We obviously stand against discrimination in all its form, so we refused to do so, and instead we took down our pop-up shop.”

    • People took to social media to express their outrage at ABC’s request, saying that the mall was discriminating against women who wear hijabs.

    • Responding to a direct message from one social media user, ABC wrote that it “is a non-sectarian entity that welcomes and respects all religions at the mall! The ban doesn't discriminate against any religion and our policy accepts all tenants regardless of their religious beliefs.”

    • “However,” ABC’s message continued, “our internal policy, which forbids all religious public displays and symbolic items/accessories, is communicated very clearly and is accepted by all ABC employees, tenants and pop-up shops.”

    •  A reported owner of ABC group is former MP Robert Fadel, a member of the National Bloc party, whose policy platform includes a section dedicated to creating gender equality in Lebanon. On Thursday night, Fadel stated via Twitter, “I repeat and remind that I have completely resigned from my administrative duties in the company since 2017; I also affirm my absolute belief in the principles of equality and freedom without any discrimination.” It was not immediately clear if he still retains his shareholding in the ABC group.