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Farzana Saheb, Burqa Wearer - Source: Close Up -
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Two veil wearing Muslim women, living in New Zealand, say they are often asked to remove them.
They were speaking on TV ONE's Close Up about the case of a woman who was refused entry to a bus because she was wearing a burqa.
The incident happened when the woman, a student from Saudi Arabia, was trying to board a bus in Auckland in May.
The student, who was wearing a veil with only the eyes exposed, was left crying on the street after reportedly being shouted at by the driver.
However, it was not an isolated incident as two days earlier a driver for the same company told another woman to remove her veil.
In Australia, three non-Muslim women wearing the burqa immediately felt the weight of stares when they stepped out into a city centre, as part of a television programme to gauge the public reaction.
In a mall they were subjected to verbal attacks from women with comments like "I'd pull it off you right now" and "We can't see your eyes".
New Zealand Muslim woman Farzana Saheb told Close Up the reaction in New Zealand to her wearing the full burqa and veil varies a lot.
"The sort of remarks you can see happening in Australia, that does happen on a regular basis sometimes to us," she said.
"Some people say 'take it off' while others will come up to you and say 'you know you don't have to wear that here.' And some people do come up to you and ask nicely 'so why do you have to wear that?'.
"And that's I think the best way to come up to us because we're very willing to just explain our belief to you."
Another Muslim woman living in New Zealand, Moveena Rasheed said: "If you're in a mall or you're walking people come up to you and say 'remove that, why do you need to wear that'."
Rasheed said she 'totally understands' why people find it disquieting to only see people's eyes and not their faces.
"And so I think it's important how we react as well. It's very important when I see someone reacting in a very negative manner that I do have an understanding that it's something new for him or her. I think we need to take a step to educate ourselves."
She said New Zealand is a tolerant and diverse country and she was surprised and saddened that the woman concerned had to go through the experience of not being allowed on a bus.
Glen Carpenter from the New Zealand Christian Network told Close Up he was saddened too.
But his sympathy is for the bus drivers because they may not have been of the grounds of discrimination which are prohibited under the Bill of Right and Human Rights Act.
Carpenter said he and Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres work together on interfaith dialogue matters "and many of these things can be resolved just by talking through the issues".
De Bres agreed but said he really feels for the young women who didn't get onto the bus.
"And it's a matter of concern for the company that two employees should have had this reaction."
He said people with control and power "have a responsibility to respect and honour the Bill of Rights and the right to freedom of religious belief".
Phobia of masks
Bus company NZ Bus says the drivers suffer from a phobia of masks and have received counselling.
But De Bres said it is a case of discrimination on the grounds of religious belief.
"It seems pretty remarkable to me that both people should suddenly have a complaint of "maskophobia", in one company in one city."
De Bres said "maskophobia" is usually associated with horror masks.
But Jon Calder, general manager at NZ Bus, is sticking by the drivers' claims.
"Both the drivers have said they have issues with dealing with people when they can't physically see the individual's face."
Calder said the company had no policies on clothing.
The husband of one of the women said he would lodge an official complaint with the Human Rights Commission on behalf of his wife.
The woman had been travelling with the couple's young son when the incident happened.
The incidents have also prompted the Consulate-General of Saudi Arabia to write to the Government to complain.
Both drivers are back on the job.
Debate over the incidents come as police in New South Wales were today given new powers to be able to remove a woman's face veil during routine traffic stops, if they suspect a crime has been committed.
PM, Goff chime in
Prime Minister John Key says women should not be discriminated against because they wear a burqa.
Key said New Zealand was a tolerant and inclusive society.
''I think where practical, and on both sides, people should respect others' culture and cultural beliefs. There is practical reasons why sometimes a burqa won't be applicable; banks for example for security reasons from time to time they will enforce that.
''But for the most part we are a multi-cultural society and we should respect other's cultural beliefs.''
There was no need to ban the wearing of burqa in public, Key said. France last year passed a law banning the wearing of face veils in public.
Key said he was comfortable with women wearing burqa. ''It doesn't offend me. It's part of people's beliefs.''
Labour leader Phil Goff said he personally didn't like the burqa, but called for a "live and let live" approach.
"We're a tolerant society," he told TV ONE's Breakfast.
"If people want to dress in a particular way they should be allowed to do so if they're not causing harm to anyone else."
He agreed with Key there was no need for a ban in New Zealand.
''When I was a young Catholic kid, all the nuns in those days wore the gown and they had all of their hair covered and we thought nothing of it.
- with Fairfax
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