WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.) today sent a letter to the D.C. Attorney General and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) officials demanding that DMV staff respect religious freedom rights and allow a surgical resident to wear a hijab covering all of her hair for her driver’s license photo.
In March 2026, DMV staff violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 and D.C.’s own policy when they forced Dr. Sohayla Horani, a surgical resident, to pull back her hijab and reveal her hair for her D.C. driver’s license photo. Dr. Horani resisted the DMV employees’ demands, explaining that she is not allowed to show any hair as a matter of religious conviction. She showed her U.S. passport and Oregon ID photographs where she was not required to show any hair. DMV employees forced Dr. Horani to pull back her hijab and show her hair anyway, and she ultimately complied because it was the last day she could obtain her license without needing to retake the driver’s license exams.
Dr. Horani paid a $48 fee to receive a temporary copy of the driver's license, but the license is useless for Dr. Horani, whose religious convictions prohibit her from showing her ID to any man who is not her husband or her close blood relative because it shows her hair.
Dr. Horani is now demanding that the DMV retake the photograph for her ID without charge and without being required to show any hair; destroy all records of the photograph showing her hair; and train all DMV employees on D.C.’s policy that expressly states hair does not need to be shown in photographs for IDs and driver’s licenses.
“I went into the DMV for a driver’s license, and I left with my rights violated,” said Dr. Horani. “DMV employees refused to take my driver’s license photo unless I pulled my hijab back and showed my hair. Nobody should have to choose between obtaining a government ID or practicing their religious freedom in America."
“We expect DMV officials to do the right thing and affirm their own rule that respects religious head coverings,” said Aditi Shah, staff attorney at the ACLU-D.C. “If they refuse, we are prepared to sue to protect the fundamental right to religious belief and expression.”
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