Australian barber Sam Rahim (Sam Rahim) has been sued by parents for sex discrimination for refusing to cut her hair, foreign media reported on April 10. Sam says he only serves men because he can't get a haircut, but he just gets a haircut.
Sam's barber shop is located in Sydney, where clients have always been men. If girls come in, Sam will persuade them to go next door to the hairdresser.
Before Christmas last year, a mother came with her daughter to cut her hair. Sam refused the woman's request on the grounds that she did not have a certificate for her hair, and directed her to a roadside hairdresser.
Sam thought it was over, but didn't expect the Human Rights and Equal opportunities Commission (Human Rights and Equal Chance Commission) to find him. The mother complained about Sam's violation of the Anti-Discrimination Act, which embarrassed her and her daughter.
So far, Sam has apologized to the woman, but she did not accept it, then Sam received a subpoena from the court.
Sam said: "I have two children, we have never been to court, not to mention this situation, now I have to seek legal aid."
Sandy Chong of the Australian hair Council says men and women need different techniques for haircuts. He could understand Sam's refusal to cut the lady's hair. In Australia, a lady hairdresser needs a certificate.
The mother, however, claimed that she had asked Sam to cut her daughter's hair without the need for styling. Sam's wife thought the whole thing was funny: "after she roared out of the shop, she threw us dirty water on the social platform just because she didn't cut her daughter's hair."
Sam said he just wanted to keep a barber shop for men and boys, but he didn't expect to be attacked. Some netizens think the mother made a fuss: "people open stores, you can choose their own customers, what are you special about." Of course, some netizens think Sam's approach is indeed problematic, but it does not rise to sexism.