Muslims asked to remove headscarves for new Garda card

Alert DateMarch 21, 2012 Country: Ireland General Type: Discrimination, Institutional discrimination, Equality/Integration Racism and discrimination phenomena: Islamophobia, Arabophobia, Religious intolerance, On grounds of other belief, Xenophobia
Groups affected / Interested in: Migrants, Muslims Key socio-economic/institutional areas: Policing - law enforcement, Employment - labour market, Health and social protection, Culture, Political discourse -parties - orgs, Political participation, Anti-discrimination, Daily life, Religion
Victims Data
Victims Nationality/Ethnic Origin N/A
Victims Gender Female
Victims Age N/A
Victims Number N/A
Fatalities - deaths N/A
Perpetrators Data
Perpetrators Nationality/Ethnic Origin N/A
Perpetrator Gender N/A
Perpetrator Age N/A
Perpetrators Number N/A
Extremist/Organised Group Violence No

Representatives of Ireland’s largest Sunni mosque have raised concerns over incidents in which a number of Muslim women were asked to remove their headscarves to comply with new identification procedures at the Garda National Immigration Bureau in Dublin. The new procedures, which include a biometric fingerprint-capture system, were introduced in recent weeks. A number of women subsequently informed the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland that they had been requested to remove their headscarves or hijab for photographs required for the new version of the registration certificate sometimes known as the Garda National Immigration Bureau or GNIB card. -Irish Times

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