A Muslim woman says she suffered a humiliating discrimination on a United Airlines flight when all she wanted was a Diet Coke.
Tahera Ahmad, whose bio on the Northwestern University website lists her as a director of interfaith engagement at the university, posted an emotional message to Facebook after the alleged incident.
Ahmad was recognized at the White House as a leading Muslim female in the United States" during Women's History Month and had attended a Ramadan dinner hosted by President Barack Obama, according to CNN.
After her post, many people began using the hashtag #unitedfortahera to show support.
United Airlines released this statement to Buzzfeed:
“United is a company that strongly supports diversity and inclusion, and we and our partners do not discriminate against our employees or customers. We are reaching out directly to Ms. Ahmad to get a better understanding of what occurred during the flight. We are also discussing the matter that Ms. Ahmad describes with Shuttle America, our regional partner that operated the flight.
The biggest question overall might be: how does a sealed can of Diet Coke become a weapon any more than any other 12-ounce item (a shoe? an iPad?) that's allowed on an airplane.
