A newly married Muslim couple sued the mayor of Lyon, France, after a local official forced the bride to remove her headscarf at a wedding ceremony at city hall.
The bride, identified only as Nassima A., was asked to remove the veil covering her hair during a wedding ceremony at a city hall in Lyon in June.
“Nassima thought it was an order and didn't think twice about taking off the hood immediately. He thought he had to do it to get married and take her off in front of everyone, "said her lawyer, Gilles Devers, in an interview with the French daily. Liberation .
Lyon District 9 Deputy Mayor Fatihah Ben Ahmed, who asked the bride and groom to show her hair, told the bride that she looked "very beautiful" without a veil.
The pair are now suing the Mayor of Lyon, Gerard Collomb, and are demanding € 50.000. The mayor said he was ready to negotiate with the couple and admitted Ben Ahmed could be more sensitive during Nassima's wedding ceremony.
In the aftermath of the incident, local official Ben Ahmed said he had acted to defend women's rights.
In France, the officials conducting the wedding ceremony need to check the identity of the bride and groom. But in this case, Nassima's headscarf did not cover her face. (Mel / Thelocal.fr / ddhongkong.org). *
