Bahrain shuts down Indian eatery after it denies entry to woman in hijab: Report

A popular Indian eatery in Bahrain's Adliya was shut down by authorities after it allegedly stopped the entry of a woman in hijab, News of Bahrain reported. The restaurant management apologised for the behaviour by putting out a statement on social media. The duty manager was suspended, the authorities said, adding that an investigation has been started as per Bahrain's law against racism.

Bahrain news outlets reported that the incident came to light after the video of a restaurant staff blocking a woman wearing a hijab from entering the restaurant went viral on social media platforms. Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority said that it has started an investigation 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 News of Bahrain. 

The viral video that caught the attention of authorities, was posted by Mariam Naji, a friend of the woman who was allegedly stopped from entering the restaurant.

"It hurts in my mind when the worker at the door refused entry to my friend because she was wearing a veil," Naji wrote while sharing a post describing the incident on Twitter.

Meanwhile, authorities concerned informed that it has called on the public to report such incidents through the National Complaints and Suggestion system Tawasum or by calling the Customer Protection Centre on 17007003, as per the News of Bahrain report.

Restaurant's response to incident

Later, the restaurant management had put out an Instagram post, apologising for the mistake.

"Everyone is welcome to Lanterns as how it has been for more than 35 years that we have been benefiting all nationalities in the lovely 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 social media read. 

(Image: PTI)