By JOLENE OGLE
AN INTERNATIONAL badminton tournament held in Noosa last week has ended on a sour note, with accusations one player was asked to leave a local venue because she was wearing a headscarf.
In a national media report, a 35-year-old Australia-born woman named Hijran was dining at the Tewantin Noosa RSL last week when she was approached by a staff member who asked her what she was wearing on her head.
The report states Hijran explained she wore a headscarf because of her Muslim faith, but claimed the staff member told her while it was OK to wear the headscarf on this occasion “if it happens on a regular basis (she) would have to ask (Hijran) to leave”.
The Tewantin Noosa RSL’s website states headgear is banned unless the board is satisfied there are acceptable reasons to wear it.
Tewantin Noosa RSL CEO Phil Stephenson confirmed the club had a dress code that didn’t allow men or women to wear headwear unless it was for medical or religious reasons, as a mark of respect to those who served.
Mr Stephenson also confirmed the club had received a complaint from a patron in regards to “a Muslim lady” who was allegedly asked about her headscarf while at the club.
“A Muslim lady recently attended the club in a headscarf and the club supervisor asked if the scarf was for religious purposes, to which the answer was yes,” he said.
Mr Stephenson said the lady was not asked to leave the club and, according to CCTV footage, the party went on to have an “enjoyable visit” as was relayed to the reception staff as the group left the venue.
“I have investigated the matter with the staff concerned, received written statements regarding the events and reviewed CCTV footage and believe the staff handled the matter appropriately,” he said.
“We have also taken the additional step of reinforcing this policy with our staff to ensure they have a clear understanding of the intent and implementation of this policy.”
Mr Stephenson said the club was not discriminatory “in any way” and the club was “very multicultural in its membership base and staffing”.
The issue was originally raised in a Facebook post on the RSL club’s Facebook page by a Geelong Ladies Badminton Club member Margaret Dwyer who said the venue’s slogan of “all visitors welcome” should be reviewed.
Mr Stephenson said he was shocked at the community’s reaction to the original Facebook post.
“We understand this is a passionate issue in the community but are disappointed to see that there were many racist, discriminatory and hateful comments on Facebook between community members attacking each other for their views,” he said.
“We will not tolerate profanity and hateful comments on our Facebook page and as such have deleted any such case of these and will continue to do so in the future.”
Ms Dwyer’s post was shared on the Facebook page of a group named Islamophobia Register Australia who said the group was in the process of investigating the issue further.
Islamophobia Register Australia president Mariam Veiszadeh called the incident “disturbing”.
“This is a rather disturbing incident which has broader implication and could be potentially in breach of state and federal anti-discrimination laws,” she said.
