Racist dress codes in Beirut pool have sparked outrage

A pool in Beirut has caused uproar in the region when Sahar Mandour, a frequent attendee of the facility, uploaded a Facebook post. The post shows the form that employers of domestic workers are required to fill out – indicating strict guidelines of how to “dress [their] helpers.” It is also noted that in case of a non-compliance to the policy, the helper will be asked to leave the premises.

The pool’s “Helper Dress Policy,” was shared on social media by Mandour who said that, “They banned an Indian woman and her daughter from going in – they went there to spend a day at the beach with a group of academics that was visiting Lebanon. The woman herself is a lecturer, she just smiled and told her friends: ‘It’s OK, racism still exists in some countries.’ My friend’s heart broke for her and he tried to fight Sporting Club’s management but they refused to let the woman go inside.”

Although Sporting Club has claimed the incident was a misunderstanding, this is not the first time the club has been called racist. It also made waves on social media in 2010 for refusing entry for maids.

Sporting Club in Beirut denies entry to migrant domestic worker in Lebanon, caught on video http://bit.ly/9X2lAo [via @joellehatem]

— Bilal Houri (@bilalhouri) July 13, 2010