A Muslim woman says she was refused entry to a Sydney nightclub for not removing her hijab.
Soaliha Iqbal claims she was entering the Paragon Hotel when the bouncer pointed at her hijab and said "take it off".
In a post on her blog, Iqbal said she was seething with rage and on the verge of tears.
"Are you serious? This is my hijab," she said to the bouncer.
The bouncer then told her to stand aside and later claimed he asked her to remove her hijab for identification purposes.
Iqbal, 21, said he didn't look at her ID in the first place, despite this claim.
"I was humiliated, I felt violated," she said.
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Friends who were with her started making calls of racism at the bouncer.
Iqbal said that instead of apologising, he told her to calm down because she was overreacting.
"Now I was being gaslit to convince me that my response to the violation of my basic rights was an 'overreaction'," she said.
Police arrived at the nightclub and told Iqbal it was an offence under the Liquor Act to be within 50m of a bar's entrance that has denied you entry.
The police told her what happened wasn't discrimination and the situation was "debateable".
The Paragon Hotel's group operations manager, Craig Wesker, sent Iqbal an apology over Facebook.
Wesker claims it was the bouncer's first shift at the venue.
"He no doubt wanted to impress the venue management with his professionalism and attention to detail in carrying out his duties and responsibilities diligently," Wesker said.
Wesker apologised for the incident and the offence caused.
Newshub.
