Thursday, November 02, 2006

Veiled Muslim Barred from Bus

A Muslim woman was barred, by the driver, from boarding a bus because she refused to remove her veil. The woman was trying to board with a bus pass but refused to remove her veil to allow the driver to identify that she was the owner of the pass. At that point the driver told her she could not board.

The woman involved did not want to be identified but told the local paper:

Bus drivers should be told how to deal with this situation. The veil is my choice and my religious duty. I am willing to go in and help the company so everyone knows what to do.
It is not the drivers who need to "know what to do" but this woman. If her religion prevents her from using a service then she cannot use that service. As a spokesman for the company said, "Under regulations passengers are required to confirm their identity if using a photo bus pass. If passengers aren't able to do this they will still be able to travel by paying for their trip."