ACLU-Nebraska: Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself

In the summer of 2003, Lubna Hussein went to an Omaha public pool with her three young daughters and a friend. The pool employees refused to allow Lubna in, claiming her modest clothing and Muslim head scarf were not permitted. Lubna and her daughters saw other people in the pool area who were wearing street clothing, but they still were refused entry. Lubna returned on a second occasion and tried to explain her religious beliefs required her to wear her scarf and clothing--she explained she only wanted to watch her children swim, not swim herself. Again, though other people--who were white--were in the pool area in regular clothes, Lubna was denied entry. We filed suit in the spring of 2004, charging the city of Omaha with racial discrimination as well as religious and gender discrimination. The case was settled in February, 2005, with a change in the pool dress code policies to allow anyone with religious clothing to enter pool facilities in the future.