Indian restaurant in Bahrain shut down for denying entry to veiled woman: Report
The restaurant authorities apologised for the action of the duty manager who allegedly barred the entry of a veiled woman and said the person concerned has been suspended.
An Indian restaurant in Islamic country Bahrain's Adliya has been closed by the authorities after it allegedly denied entry to a veiled woman, Gulf Daily News reported. The restaurant authority has put out an apology statement on social media expressing regret for the incident. The duty manager has been suspended, the authorities said.
Bahrain news outlets reported that the incident came to the fore after the video of a restaurant staff blocking a veiled woman went viral on social media platforms. Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority has launched a probe and asked all tourism outlets to avoid any policy that violates the laws of the kingdom. "We reject all actions that discriminate against people, especially regarding their national identity," the authorities said, as quoted by a local media.
The restaurant management posted a statement on social media and said this incident does not represent the authorities. "Everyone is welcome to Lanterns as how it has been for more than 35 years that we have been serving all nationalities in the beautiful kingdom of Bahrain. Lanterns is a place for everyone to come enjoy with their families and feel at home. In this instance, a mistake has been made by a manager who is now being suspended as this does not represent who we are. As a goodwill gesture, we welcome all our Bahraini patrons to Lanterns on Tuesday 29th of March to have complimentary food on us," the statement posted on Instagram read.
The incident has drawn the attention of Indian social media users as it comes amid the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka. The Karnataka high court has upheld the state government's ban on hijab inside educational institutions and said hijab is not essential to Islamic practice.