Mary Onuoha is a 61-year-old nurse of Nigerian origin working for a South London hospital. Since the mid-1990s, Mary was wearing a tiny necklace in the shape of a cross she received for her baptism without it ever being a problem. However, she started to be discriminated against in 2015 for wearing her crucifix. 

More recently, the Christian woman has been urged to dispose of her cross “for sanitary reasons”. The hospitals’ authorities argued that her necklace “harboured bacteria”. This argument came as a shock to Mary Onuoha who drew attention to the fact that many of her colleagues “wore hijabs, bracelets, turbans and went to mosque four times a day… Yet my little cross was deemed so dangerous I lost the job that I loved” – she told the Daily Mail. 

Mary was first downgraded and then fired for refusing to comply. She referred the case to the labour court, which ruled in her favour. She won a case against Croydon NHS Trust on the grounds of harassment, victimisation, direct and indirect discrimination, and unfair dismissal.

The Court rejected the employer’s claim that “the cross was not a symbol of the nurse’s faith and that it was a source of potential contamination”. It also stated that “she had been dismissed without just cause, which was discriminatory and violated her human rights.”

Moreover, the court underlined that “preventing a Christian woman from displaying the cross was part of a broader campaign of persecution,”. The woman’s lawyer added, that Christians have the right to profess their faith.

“It has always been an attack to my faith (…) My cross has been with me for more than 40 years. It is part of me, and my faith, and it has never caused anyone any harm,” the Christian nurse told the Daily Mail. 

The British health service has announced that it will review its policy regarding the wearing of signs of faith by medical workers. The amount of potential compensation for the nurse has not been communicated yet. 

Cover photo: Twitter @CConcern/PA

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen