Mumbai: A security guard at Dr R N Cooper Municipal General Hospital in Vile Parle has been issued a show-cause notice after she asked a woman visitor to remove her burqa completely before entering the post-neonatal ward. The hospital administration has clarified that no such protocol exists and that the incident resulted from a miscommunication.
The incident took place on August 30 at around 4.15 pm. Advocate Jahanara Shaikh arrived at the ward to visit when the female security guard barred her entry unless she removed her burqa entirely.
Shaikh refused. “I told the security staff that I am not hiding my face and identity and should be allowed to go in. I told them that I cannot be asked to remove my burqa entirely. It is our right to dress as we like and I am showing my face,” she said.
Shaikh later spoke to hospital officials and the police. “The hospital staff cooperated and the AMO told us that the security staff cannot do this,” she said.
Dr Chhaya Shinde, dean of Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Medical College and Dr R N Cooper Municipal General Hospital, confirmed that the guard had misunderstood the security protocol. “There is no such protocol that women have to remove their burqa entirely. There was a miscommunication with the security guard appointed by the BMC. We have taken action against the security guard and the matter has been resolved,” Shinde said.
The dean clarified that visitors to the post-neonatal ward are only required to show their face or move their veil aside for identification purposes. Stricter security measures are in place in the ward to protect newborn babies.
The guard, who was on a 10-day duty assignment, later apologised to Shaikh. The hospital also issued her a show-cause notice over the incident.
Shaikh said she understood the need for heightened security in sensitive hospital wards. “I would like to tell my sisters that no one should misuse the burqa,” she added, while stressing that security procedures should not require a woman to remove her religious attire when a face identification suffices.
