Over the weekend, members of the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club voted down a proposed amendment to their rules that would allow the wearing of headwear in the bar if it is worn for significant religious beliefs.
The Human Rights Commission had been asked to be involved in mediation after Karnail Singh was barred from entering the club in November for not removing his turban.
Verpal Singh, secretary of the Sikh Council of New Zealand describes the decision as “a wake up call to their community” about the need to educate the wider New Zealand society about the importance of the turban, saying the turban is one of the Sikh religion’s principal parts of its faith and that asking people to remove it “is like asking someone to strip down in public.”
I might be wrong, but I imagine that the original Cossie Club rule was put in place in the days when men wore hats and they were expected to remove them indoors.
One Cossie Club member justified their decision by saying that allowing turbans to be worn would mean they would have to let in people wearing hoodies and balaclavas. I think that’s stretching it a bit.
The world is changing and I know it’s challenging and difficult. I hope that there can be some more dialogue between the Sikh community and the Club to get a greater understanding each other’s views – and ultimately, an acceptance that we do have differences in religion and culture in New Zealand and that is a strength, not a threat.
