By Jun Burgos
INQUIRER.netFirst Posted 13:05:00 05/31/2010
MANILA, Philippines—A group of Muslims who, because of their religious clothing, were allegedly discriminated and humiliated in a resort they visited in Western Australia finally got justice after more than a year of fighting their case in court.
The case was filed by Ms. Pakeeza Shaikh after an incident in February 2009 when she and her friends visited Adventure World in Western Australia’s Perth city but were told they could not go on water rides because of their “inappropriate swimwear”—three-quarter length pants and long shirts—which they, in adherence to their religious belief, traditionally use on such occasions or activities.
Based on reported accounts of the incident, the group was told by members of the resort staff that if they were to enter the water, chlorine levels would have to be raised to counter the “unhygienic effect from their clothes” and, that their clothing could cause injury because it could get caught in the joints of the water slides. One woman in a head scarf was also reportedly told to leave the baby pool.
Ms. Shaikh said her group asked to see the rules which proved their swimwear did not meet the park's standards but the resort’s management could not produce such a document and there were no signs at all to indicate that their swimwear was inappropriate.
She said they were indeed discriminated and humiliated in the incident. Ms. Shaikh lodged a complaint before the Equal Opportunity Commission.
Adventure World’s management had earlier insisted that its staff had made the decision after interpreting Health Department guidelines, and that the management was satisfied that its staff complied with safety procedures.
Recently, the Commission confirmed that “a recreation park had apologized to an Islamic group and paid $16,000 in compensation.” The group, reportedly, had rejected earlier offers of financial compensation until a written apology was included. The money was said to have been divided among the five Islamic families that visited the park as a group, as represented by Ms. Shaikh in the complaint before the Commission.
The Commission added that “the park had agreed to review its clothing guidelines, offered free entry passes to the group, and arranged a special welcome to restore the relationship with the families.”
The Islamic Council of Western Australia, through its spokesman Rahim Ghjauri, said his group applauds the result as a victory for common sense, adding, “We can never count victory in terms of dollars, but in terms of friendship and living harmoniously."
In this incident, an establishment had committed a mistake, the aggrieved party filed a complaint, the court acted on it and the alleged aggressor-party made amends and undertook measures to prevent a repeat of the incident. Many observers said the case was an example of a functioning, fair justice system, particularly in Western Australia.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20100531-273093/Discriminated-Muslims-in-Western-Australia-get-justice
