A court awarded a Muslim woman a $120,000 settlement after police forced her to remove her hijab in front of male jailers for a mugshot in 2013.

Aida Shyef Al Kadi, who was born in Ohio and moved to Minnesota so her child could receive special medical care, was arrested after a judge issued a warrant for Al Kadi because she failed to appear in court for a traffic violation. After turning herself in, Al Kadi was ordered to remove her hijab and abaya, a dress that covers the body, in front of male jailers at the Ramsey County jail.

U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim awarded the settlement last week after Al Kadi sued Ramsey County for violating her constitutional rights and appeared with lawyers at the Minnesota headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations earlier this month.

“It was one of the most humiliating and harmful experiences of my life,” said Al Kadi. “I knew that I did not want any other Muslim woman to experience what I did.”

Al Kadi initially refused to remove her hijab and was allowed to take the religious clothing off in a separate cell in front of a single male jailer. She agreed to remove the clothing after receiving assurances that the photos would not appear online.

Months later, Al Kadi found the photos on a website that requires payment for mugshots to be removed. After the mugshots were taken, Al Kadi was given a bedsheet to cover herself with.

"A bedsheet belongs on a bed … not a human being," Al Kadi said during her deposition.

Since the incident, new policies have been implemented so that another similar incident does not occur. One new policy makes it so that women do not have to remove their hijab in front of male jailers.

"Ramsey county’s values hold that the rights, beliefs, well-being, and dignity of all our residents are protected and honored in all aspects of what we do," said Ramsey County Board Chair Jim McDonough in a statement. "The practices outlined in the agreement to improve the booking process for those with religious head coverings better reflect these values.“