The world is a discriminatory place for hijabis. Both at home and abroad, they are often denied or dismissed from jobs as no-hijab policies in the workplace are common. In companies in the West, these policies seem to be more linked to Islamophobia than anything else. 

In a recent case of this kind, a Muslim worker in a fast-food chain in the U.S. was kicked out of the workplace after turning up to work in a hijab. In a video posted on Twitter, Folake Adebola exposes her boss' reaction to her head covering in a 45-second clip at a Chicken Express restaurant in Fort Worth, Dallas. 

In her confrontation with her boss, the woman said: "It's a part of my religion. I felt like if I work here y'all could be able to (accommodate) my religion." 

Her boss showed little sympathy and understanding, saying the hijab "is a different thing ... that's a part of your personal life out there."

The woman has said that she converted to Islam in August and wasn't wearing the hijab when she first started working at the fast-food restaurant. 

Her boss, however, insisted that asking her to not wear her hijab has "nothing to do with religion" and that it is simply "not part of the uniform." Who knew the freedom of religious expression would be compromised under the pretext of a dress code? 

"The job requires a specific uniform. That is not part of the specific uniform. 'You as a paid employee cannot wear it,'" the man said. 

Many organizations lack regulations that protect hijabis from discrimination, subjecting the latter to more incidents of this kind. Employers seem to be broadening the rift with such discriminatory decisions, rather than nurturing acceptance and promoting diversity in the workplace.

Highly qualified professionals continue to be dismissed opportunities because of the way they choose to express their personal beliefs. 

With Lebanon drowning in heavy rainfall and a hefty $86 billion in internal debt, the people are divided while some are keeping tabs on others. 

As millions of Lebanese are unable to withdraw their dollars from banks, have unannounced limits on their spendings, and are nagging about the revolution that was born out of despair, the elite still paddle in their pool of wealth. 

The upper class, the rich, the well-off, they worked hard to earn the money they have; they most certainly worked and broke their backs to be able to withdraw $10,000 from a Lebanese bank post-Oct. 17. Ever since the Lebanese revolution propelled two months ago, banks have closed in the faces of their clients and set a weekly dollar withdrawal limit to encourage people to use the Lebanese pound. The limit varied from $150-$300/week to $1,000/week, depending on the bank (and your position on the corrupt nepotism scale).  

Dec. 30 started off as a regular day. A friend of mine vacationing in Turkey for four days sent me the photo above. "This man is Lebanese and bragging about how he was able to withdraw $10,000 in cash from Byblos Bank," she texted me. 

At the end of the day, both of them were spending their money abroad while their country is economically suffering; the only difference was the amount of money each is squandering. We can't exactly blame either of them for choosing to spend their cash instead of saving it; it's theirs.

A few minutes later, she sends a photo of a shawarma place in hopes of making me and the others on the WhatsApp group jealous. Mission accomplished, if I may say. Seconds pass and a group member sends a screenshot from a Facebook post of a man who reportedly stole a whole shawarma skewer from a restaurant in Lebanon. The odds, right?

Unfortunately, instead of laughing over this coincidence, I came to realize that both photos represented the division from within the Lebanese society. One man had thousands of dollars injected in Turkey's economy while his fellow Lebanese was stealing food to survive the current situation. 

How can a man, who surely earned his money, be allowed to get $10,000 in cash, in dollars, in one transaction, while others whose salaries barely touch the $1,000-mark have to make weekly drops at the counter and pay fees that go up to $3 ... just to withdraw $150? How can restaurants and cafés be overbooked for New Year's Eve, malls be overcrowded, and roads be red and jammed because of cars while people are being fired from their jobs and having their salaries slashed in half because "there's no money"?

Under the video of the man stealing, comments such as "May God help him," and "He hurt no one because he's just hungry. Bon appétit," were plenty.

The Lebanese are sympathizing with a thief. And aren't we already used to that? Haven't we sympathized with our dear politicians for long enough to see our country sucked dry of everything good? Though yes, thieves do come in categories and the man who simply walked in, took an entire shawarma skewer, and walked out is technically one. He took without permission what wasn't his, with probably no intention of returning it. But people supported him still; some cheered him on while others pitied him and an entire population who is facing an unknown future of economic woes.

And when it comes to a man who's spending his own money abroad, on clothes and tourism and whatnot, anger and jealousy takes us over. How is he allowed to do that while others have no access to their money? And again, isn't this our constant annoyance with those we elect to be in power? They have all the money to help but choose not to. 

Such opposing scenarios have always been the norm in Lebanon, but where has the October revolution placed the cheering crowd? 

This situation makes Lebanon a Robin Hood kind of country, supporting the rioting poor over the selfish rich.