Muslim woman 'humiliated' by Sydney bouncer's hijab demand
A “humiliated” Muslim woman has claimed a popular pub in Sydney’s CBD refused her entry after she refused to remove her hijab at the request of the bouncer.
Soaliha Iqbal, 21, was queuing with friends outside the Paragon Hotel following a climate rally on Friday when she claims she was asked to take off her hijab by a male member of door staff after handing him her ID.
“He pointed to my hijab and said ‘take it off’,” she claimed in a blog post on website 5Why.
Ms Iqbal said the request left her “in shock” and when she failed to respond in disbelief, she said the bouncer again repeated his demand in a more aggressive tone.
“‘What is that? Take it off’,” she claimed the bouncer then said.
Full of rage and holding back tears, Ms Iqbal told the employee that it was her hijab and when she didn’t comply, she was asked to stand aside and refused entry.
“I felt humiliated, I felt violated,” she said.
While handing her ID to the bouncer, she said she did so voluntary and at no point was it asked for or did he look at it when making his request. She also noted she is wearing her hijab in the photograph on her ID.
With the exchange shocking friends and other patrons trying to enter the premises, her rejection led to heated discussion between door staff and management where the doorman was accused of racism before police, who were present in the area following the rally, stepped in.
Ms Iqbal was instructed to leave the area, with staff citing a law that states patrons rejected from a licensed venue must move at least 50 metres from its entry.
“Never, in my whole life, have I been treated so badly by an establishment,” she said.
Calling the incident a blatant case of discrimination, Ms Iqbal said she was further angered that the hotel staff failed to apologise and claimed she was “overreacting” and had misunderstood the situation.
Yahoo News Australia has contacted Paragon Hotel for comment over the alleged incident.
Craig Wesker, the group operations manager for Ryan’s Hotel Group who own the Paragon, issued an apology to Ms Iqbal via her Facebook page.
He claims the doorman was working his first shift and in a bid to “impress the venue management with his professionalism and attention to detail in carrying out his duties and responsibilities diligently”, he had mistaken her hijab as a headscarf.
Mr Wesker said Ms Iqbal had incorrectly misinterpreted the situation and that she was not refused entry for refusing to remover her hijab.
He “unreservedly” apologised for the mistake of the bouncer and the offence caused.
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