No Turbans here, ‘cos we say so

A club purporting in its very name to offer membership to all races found itself making embarrassing headlines when it refused entry to a turbaned Sikh because of his religious headwear.

New Zealand’s Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club turned away Karnail Singh, even though he was due to attend a function honouring his services to the community with the Aged Concern charity.

The club claimed it had a ‘no hats’ policy, although other Cosmopolitan (‘Cossie’) clubs, a feature of New Zealand life for nearly half a century, are less rigid in their interpretations.

National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, another Sikh, said he would refer the issue to the country’s Human Rights Commission. Online journal Stuff reported Mr Bakshi as saying: “I am allowed to wear the turban in Parliament. Why should a Cossie club ban it from its premises?”

Stuff said the club claimed the Commission and the NZ Ethnic Society had previously advised that as a private club the Cosmopolitan could enforce its rules. It also claimed the Ethnic Society said turbans were not compulsory within the Sikh community.

The New Zealand Herald reported the Commission as saying there had been a complaint against the club earlier this year when it refused to let a Muslim international student enter its dining area because she was wearing a hijab, or religious headscarf.

Turban and hijab are regarded as principal articles of faith for the respective religions.

More information: www.nzherald.co.nz and www.stuff.co.nz