Recently, Hijab-clad Muslim girls were forced to leave a career expo in Australia after onlookers felt insecure by their ‘attire’ following the Manchester suicide bombing. According to WA reports, some people complained that the school children’s hijab was making them feel threatened after what happened in Manchester and they asked staff to have them removed from the venue.
The schoolgirls were attending the career expo at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC) last week. The incident came after a week when Salman Abedi killed 22 people in the suicide bomb attack in Manchester at an Ariana Grande concert.
However, the PCEC confirmed that the centre was contacted about the incident involving discrimination against patrons on May 26 but denied the staff involvement.
Read more: Manchester blast: Bomber died in the blast, says police
Islamophobia Register Australia President, Mariam Veiszadeh, said, “I am very disappointed to hear about the incident”.
“Time and again, we come across examples of ignorant prejudice in which everyday people conflate the faith of 1.6 plus billion Muslims worldwide with that of the murderous acts of a group who hold themselves out to be Muslims. Women often bear the brunt of Islamophobia and a rather alarming number of incidents take place in the presence of children,” she added.
A mother of one of the students quoted that her 16-year old daughter and her friends were told by their teacher that they had to pack up their lunch and leave from the careers expo.
“I am not angry, I am just sad. I fee; particularly sad that my daughter went on an excursion and did not enjoy it. I see this opportunity to raise awareness and get a deeper understanding of how young Muslims in Australia feel”
“For starters, how can people think what the students are wearing has anything to do with what happens elsewhere,” she added.
