New Delhi: Author Jhumpa Lahiri has declined an award from New York’s Noguchi Museum citing the fact that it fired three employees for wearing keffiyeh scarves, an emblem of Palestinian solidarity.
Lahiri is of Indian origin. Her 1999 debut collection of short-stories, Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize that year.
The museum, founded nearly 40 years ago by Japanese-American designer and sculptor Isamu Noguchi, announced in August that employees could not wear clothing or accessories that expressed “political messages, slogans or symbols” during their working hours.
The Isamu Noguchi award was established in 2014 and is presented annually to what its website says are “highly accomplished individuals who share Noguchi’s spirit of innovation, unbounded imagination, and uncompromising commitment to creativity.”
Earlier awardees are Norman Foster, David Adjaye, Toshiko Mori and Tadao Ando.
“Jhumpa Lahiri has chosen to withdraw her acceptance of the 2024 Isamu Noguchi Award in response to our updated dress code policy,” the museum said in a statement on September 25.
In a separate statement uploaded to the museum website, dated September 18, the museum’s director Amy Hau wrote, “This decision was carefully considered and is intended to prevent any unintentional alienation of our diverse visitorship, while allowing us to remain focused on our core mission of advancing the understanding and appreciation of Isamu Noguchi’s art and legacy.”
“We acknowledge that these are difficult times and that not everyone will agree with our approach,” she added.
The keffiyeh has become one of the quietest symbols of Palestinian self-determination with supporters donning it across the world.
As Al Jazeera noted in its report, Anti-apartheid South African leader Nelson Mandela was also seen wearing the scarf on many occasions.
