In a tragic recent incident, a young Muslim mother was killed after her Hijab (a headscarf that Muslim women use to cover their head and neck) became entangled in the axle of a go-kart she was driving at Port Stephens Go-Karts on the NSW Central Coast.
The woman had apparently been advised not to wear her headscarf in the go-kart but is understood to have chosen to ignore that advice.
Meanwhile, as part of a confidential settlement at Western Australia’s Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), Adventure World Perth has been ordered to compensate and apologise to a group of Muslim women after they were refused permission to go on water rides at the Park because of their clothing.
Park staff had apparently suggested that the womens’ three-quarter length pants and long shirts “would require chlorine levels to be raised to counter the unhygienic effect” and that their clothing could cause “injury if it got caught in the joints of the water slides”.
While the hygiene argument was debatable, in the light of the Port Stephens Go-Kart incident, concerns about the potential of clothing to cause injury or, even death, would appear to be valid and, as a result, the EOC’s negotiated settlement would appear particularly harsh on Adventure World.
History, and major geo-political events of the last decade, have created a gulf of misunderstanding between secular ‘first world’ countries and their Muslim populations, as well as between Muslim and non-Muslim nations. And such misunderstanding is unlikely to be countered if commonsense and safety is compromised.
In the light of this, clear clothing policies that respect religious and cultural differences would seem to be a must among leisure operators.
Nigel Benton, Publisher, Australasian Leisure Management.
http://www.ausleisure.com
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