Lebanese-American Lt. Maysaa Ouza is making history as the first lawyer to wear hijab as part of the Air Force’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps program, Air Force Times reported.
“At officer training, I was the first Muslim that most of my colleagues had ever met,” Ouza told NBC documentary.
Lt. Ouza was recently granted a religious accommodation allowing her to wear a hijab during training and in her role as chief of legal advice at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
As a graduate from the University of Toledo College of Law, the Muslim woman knew that her hijab may impact her application into the Air Force.
After being accepted into the highly-competitive JAG Corps program, she was told she could only request a religious accommodation after committing years of her life to military service.
“You’ve got to open the door to allow other people to experience who we are.”
When Ouza was awarded the “Airman of the Week” honor, her fellow trainees and instructors described her as “a true leader who will greatly contribute to the Air Force and anything she pursues.”Ouza is not the first Muslim woman to wear hijab while serving in the US army.
