More than 60,000 sign petition to stop doctor getting sacked for asking Muslim patient to remove veil

Dr Keith Wolverson is facing an inquiry by the General Medical Council

More than 60,000 people have signed a petition backing a doctor who is under investigation for asking a Muslim patient to remove her veil.

Dr Keith Wolverson says he told the woman to take off her niqab so he could hear her describe what was wrong with her child.

He was reported to his bosses at Royal Stoke University Hospital after the patient’s husband complained she was upset by his “rude” request.

The freelance GP, who has been practising for 23 years, admits he is now ”rather fearful of the consequences” after finding out he has been reported to the General Medical Council (GMC) and will be the subject of a racial discrimination inquiry.

The patient's husband complained that Dr Keith Wolverson had been rude (stock photo) ( Getty/iStock )

He said he would continue to “fight to the bitter end” in order to carry on working in the profession.

Speaking about the incident, the 52-year-old from Derby said: “I asked a lady to remove her face veil for adequate communication, in the same way I’d ask a motorcyclist to remove a crash helmet.

“When the letter came through, I was rather fearful of the consequences.

“I’m a little bit sad the country has been committed to depths such as this.

“But it takes more than this to knock me off my perch.”

Dr Wolverson said he was “absolutely bowled over” by the petition on change.org, which has now reached over 60,990 signatures.

The creator of the petition, titled “Stop Dr Wolverson getting fired”, wrote: “I would like to get as many people as possible to sign this petition and save this man’s reputation.

“I believe he acted in the best interest of the child involved and there was no racist or religious discrimination in his actions.

“We need to ensure the General Medical Council treat this man fairly and look at all the evidence.

“Our NHS is severely understaffed and we cannot afford to lose doctors due to fabricated accusations of discrimination.”

The Doctors Association called on the GMC to issue “clear guidelines to protect both doctors and our patients”.

“It is of utmost importance that the religious wishes of our patients are respected,” a spokesperson added.

“However, evidently there are some circumstances where removal of a niqab or burqa is necessary for medical assessment and treatment.”

Dr Wolverson, who has been suspended, said he expected to face a hearing before the GMC which would decide on his future.

He added: “The trouble is, I’m a freelance doctor and if you get reported to the GMC you don’t get any offers of work.

“Yes I want to carry on, yes I will carry on, but it is academic until the inquiry is over.”

(Source: Independent)

Sri Lanka bans all types of face covers including burqa after Easter Sunday bombings

The decision to ban all types of burqas and face covers was approved by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena after several bombs ripped through the island nation on April 21. 

Almost a week after a series of bomb blasts ripped through three Sri Lankan cities, government authorities on Sunday ordered a complete prohibition on all types of face covers including burqas.

The decision to ban all types of burqas and face covers was approved by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena after several bombs ripped through the island nation on April 21.

The information was conveyed late on Sunday via an official press release. The release said: "Any form of face covering that will hinder the identification of a person is banned under emergency regulations."

"A decision has been taken by the president to ban all forms of face covering that will hinder easy identification under emergency regulations," it added.

Sri Lankan authorities on Sunday banned all types of face covers including burqa after the serial bombings on April 21. (Photo: Reuters)

The move to ban face covers, burqas and masks comes after a Sri Lankan parliamentarian submitted a private members' motion for the same.

In fact, an organisation of Muslim clerics named All Cetlon Jamiyyathul Ulama also asked women to avoid wearing a burqa/niqab in order to help security forces.

Earlier in the day, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe also said that he was not against the ban on burqa. A situation of emergency has been declared in the island nation since the bombings that claimed over 250 lives, including some Indians.

At least 500 people were injured in the serial bombings as well. While the move is expected to make lives easier for the security personnel, not all from the Muslim community in the island nation may be happy with the fresh decision.

Earlier in the day, India Today TV reported that many Muslims across Sri Lanka are already concerned about their safety as they are being targeted by mobs.

While many Muslim women in the country have stopped wearing the bura, some have stopped sending out their children to play.

The bombings on April 21 came as a shock to the island nation, especially becuase the attack occured on Easter.

Sri Lanka has blamed local terror outfit National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) for the attack, adding that the organisation was backed by the Islamic State.

At least 9 suicide bombers were responsible for the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka in a decade. Three churches and three five-star hotels were primarily targeted in the attacks.

(Source: India Today)

Muslim supermodel becomes first to wear burkini and hijab in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue

A Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue has featured its first ever hijab wearing model on the cover, the boundary-breaking Hamila Aden, and people are loving it.

The issue, which is set to hit newsstands on May 8, will feature the Somali-American model on its cover, while she models two custom burkinis.

In a statement about the progressive cover, the magazine's editor MJ Day said that the publication's priorities have shifted, and featuring Aden on the cover is representative of this.

In the release, Day said:

Having Halima as a part of SI Swimsuit is yet another example of the range and scope of the type of beauty that exists.

Her participation and inclusion further highlights the brand’s commitment and belief in supporting women to own who they are and what makes them unique and ultimately reaffirms what our messaging has been, that YOU are worthy.

Speaking to the Huffington Post about the cover, Aden described her appearance on the cover as a 'moment':

Being in Sports Illustrated is so much bigger than me.

It’s sending a message to my community and the world that women of all different backgrounds, looks, upbringings can stand together and be celebrated.

This is a moment, that’s for sure. Women everywhere should know their differences are what make them beautiful.

Aden was born in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, before moving to the US aged 7. The model returned to Kenya for the Sports Illustrated shoot at Watama Beach on the southeast coast.

Speaking to Sky News about the cover, she said:

I keep thinking [back] to six-year-old me who, in this same country, was in a refugee camp.

So to grow up to live the American dream [and] to come back to Kenya and shoot for the Sports Illustrated in the most beautiful parts of Kenya - I don't think that's a story that anybody could make up.

She also had a positive message for other young Muslim women, saying in a release quoted in the Huffington Post:

Young Muslim women need to know that there is a modest swimsuit option available to them so they can join the swim team, participate in swim class at school, and go with their friends to the beach.

Muslim girls should feel confident taking that step and doing so comfortably while wearing a burkini.

This isn't the first time the supermodel has made headlines. In 2016, Aden became the first Miss Minnesota contestant to compete wearing a hijab and burkini. She's also the first model to wear a hijab on the cover of Allure magazine.

Muslim supermodel Halima Aden has made history once again by becoming the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue https://t.co/cU4gM5p982 pic.twitter.com/cA6tgzJkIr

— CNN (@CNN) 29 April 2019

(Source: Independent) 

Sri Lanka may ban burqa following Easter terror attacks

Probe hints at the role of a large number of women in the attacks

Sri Lanka has initiated a plan to ban the burqa as interrogation of suspects and other evidence are pointing to the involvement of a large number of women in the Easter Sunday attacks that killed at least 321 people and wounded nearly 500 others in the island nation, a media report said on Tuesday.

The government is planning to implement the move in consultation with the mosque authorities, the Daily Mirror reported quoting sources.

"The government, he said (source), is planning to implement the move in consultation with the mosque authorities and on Monday several ministers had spoken to President Maithripala Sirisena on the matter," the paper reported the source as saying.

It has been pointed out that burqa and niqab were never part of the traditional attire of Muslim women in Sri Lanka until the Gulf War in the early 1990s which saw extremist elements introducing the garb to Muslim women.

Representative image

Defence sources said that a number of female accomplices of incidents in Dematagoda too had escaped wearing burqas, the report said.

A string of powerful blasts, suspected to be carried on by National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) jihadist group, ripped through three churches and as many luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 321 people and injuring more than 500 others, shattering a decade of peace in the country following the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE.

The bombs tore through three five-star hotels in Colombo: the Cinnamon Grand, the Shangri La and the Kingsbury. At least 38 foreigners, including 10 Indian nationals, have died in the attacks.

Forty suspects, including the driver of a van allegedly used by the suicide bombers, have been arrested in connection with the multiple attack.

If Sri Lanka adopts the burqa ban, it would join the group of nations in Asia, Africa, and Europe that have done so in the interest of preventing terrorists from using the burqa to evade police or hide explosives.

Among the nations that have enacted a ban on the item are Chad, Cameroon, Gabon, Morocco, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Belgium, and Xinjiang, a Muslim-majority province in northwestern China, the paper reported.

(Source: The Week)