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Image: Archi Banal
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SocietyMarch 24, 2023

Why is this Auckland club clinging to a ‘discriminatory’ dress-code rule?

Image: Archi Banal
Image: Archi Banal

For over a decade, Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club has come under fire for denying entry to people wearing religious headwear. Despite the Human Rights Commission getting involved, it seems the rule remains unchanged.

One of the definitions given by the Oxford dictionary for the word cosmopolitan is: “including people from many different countries”. If you take a peek in the Merriam-Webster you’ll find definitions like, “composed of persons, constituents, or elements from all or many parts of the world”, or “having worldwide rather than limited or provincial scope or bearing”. In short, “cosmopolitan” is synonymous with “worldly”.

So, it might seem somewhat ironic that a club describing itself with such an adjective maintains a rule that prevents people of a variety of religious backgrounds from entering its premises.

Enter: Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club. Situated on Alfriston Road in South Auckland and once a workingmen’s Club (meaning women were barred from entering), the Manurewa “cossie club” is in many ways like a time capsule of 1980s New Zealand. Geometric teal carpet is populated by postmodern white metal-framed barstools and faux columns. Their menu boasts dishes like a deep-fried fisherman’s basket, bangers and mash, and chicken and smoked cranberry sandwiches.

The public controversy surrounding Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club’s policy around headwear dates back at least as far as December 2009, when Karnail Singh, a Sikh community leader, arrived at the premises to receive an award from the club for service to the community. However, the club barred him from entering under its “no headgear” rule because he wore a dastar, a traditional turban of his Sikh faith. While other volunteers enjoyed their meal inside the club, Singh was forced to go home.

At the time, the Human Rights Commission looked into the case and called the rule “a blast from the past” and “deeply disappointing”. They told the Herald the case wasn’t the first time it had received a complaint against the club – earlier in the year they had received complaints about the club’s refusal of entry to a guest wearing a hijab. A mediation resulted in an “agreement to review its rule on headwear and dress code”, a commission spokesman said in the article.

And yet, more than a decade later, the ban on religious headwear remains in full effect.

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Earlier this month, a TikTok user described an experience in which her partner, who wears a turban, was refused entry to the club. “My partner and I had been invited to attend an event at Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club,” she says in the video. “The first thing [the receptionist] says to us… was, ‘can he take that off?’”. She responded: “His turban?” To which “the receptionist [said] ‘yes’ and chuckled to himself”. The TikToker, who goes by the name winecella, goes on to explain how the receptionist cited a “strict policy about no headwear – that includes cultural and religious headwear”. In another video, she explains that both her partner’s whānau and her own are filing official complaints against the club.

A “dress standard” policy is outlined on the club’s website. Beach wear, singlets, gumboots and “sportswear with numbers” are among the list of garments “not acceptable at any time”. Below that, the policy states that, “Subject to Management approval only, the following items of headwear may be worn within the Club: (a) Headwear required for medical reasons (b) Headwear for special Club events.” 

“Your cooperation would be appreciated to ensure a standard of dress in keeping with the high standard of facilities available,” it finishes.

While other Cosmopolitan Clubs around the country make allowances for religious headwear, in 2010 members of the Manurewa club voted overwhelmingly to maintain the regulation.

In March 2011 the Sikh Council planned to complain about the ban to the Human Rights Review Tribunal, which, unlike the commission, can force the club to comply with the Human Rights Act. 

Gurdwara Sri Kalgidhar Sahib (Sikh temple) in Takanini, a suburb that neighbours Manurewa. (Image: Indian News Link NZ)

In 2015, the issue made headlines again when a Sikh real estate agent said he was barred from the club while out for lunch with colleagues because he was wearing a turban. He was told he was breaching the club’s no headwear policy. Singh said he was “embarrassed” by the incident and lodged a complaint of religious discrimination with the Human Rights Commission.

The club president at the time, John Stevens, told Stuff that he believed the rule was not religious discrimination: “It’s just the standard rule we’ve had in our club for the last 50 years.” He said the rule existed “to stop people coming in with beanies, with caps, with hoodies.” Stevens told Stuff he would raise the issue at their 2016 AGM.

In 2019, it was clear that the club hadn’t budged on the rule. Another Sikh man, Jagdip Bajwa, was told he couldn’t enter the club because his turban violated the club’s ban on headwear.

“The turban is not a hat that can just be taken off and worn again, it holds way more significance and value. We won’t take it off… it’s part of our body, it’s part of our faith, it’s part of our culture,” Bajwa told John Campbell on an episode of Breakfast.

A scroll through Google reviews for the club reflects an ongoing issue too. A spate of one-star reviews from the last two weeks speak to the community’s frustration with the “racist” and “discriminatory” rule.

“I am appalled by the blatant discrimination and disrespect shown by this club towards the Sikh community, being denied entry for wearing a turban, which is an article of faith for Sikhs,” wrote one reviewer. “The club’s policy of ‘no headwear’ is ignorant and insensitive to the religious and cultural diversity of its customers. Turbans are not just fashion accessories, they are symbols of identity, dignity and honour for Sikhs.”

A review written last month recounts a person who was refused entry because of their turban while attempting to attend their census collector training at the club.

In a statement to The Spinoff, Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission said: “The commission urges all clubs to operate in an inclusive manner that is open to the customs and practices of our diverse communities. The Human Rights Act provides that conditions which may appear to be neutral or non-discriminatory but in practice have a differential, detrimental effect on a person or group of people from a particular race, ethnicity, religion or other prohibited ground of discrimination, may constitute indirect discrimination. The act provides that such conditions will be unlawful unless the person who is making the condition can prove that there is a good reason for it.” 

When approached for comment by The Spinoff, the Manurewa Cosmopolitan club manager said they would not be commenting on the rule as it was “being dealt with internally”. When asked whether that meant they were in the process of reviewing the rule again, the manager responded: “Yes.”

Although the Human Rights Commission does not comment on specific cases to protect the privacy of the complaint process, they “encourage anyone who has experienced direct or indirect discrimination to contact the commission for advice and information. We provide a confidential complaints service and may be able to offer mediation to assist the complainant and respondent to resolve the issue.”

In situations where complaints are not able to be resolved, complainants can take their complaint to the independent Human Rights Review Tribunal for a decision about whether the situation amounts to unlawful discrimination under the Human Rights Act.  

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