New Delhi: A 67-year-old Indian visitor to Dubai was stopped from getting on the Dubai metro, apparently for wearing dhoti, India's traditional dress. According to the victim's daughter Madhumati, a policeman stopped them near the punching gates of the Etisalat metro station last Saturday
and told her father that this dress was not allowed and he could not go on the metro wearing it. "I pleaded with him to let us go but the policeman refused to hear a word. It was really embarrassing and my father was really upset," she said. Madhumati said that she tried her best to explain to the police officer that the dhoti was an Indian traditional dress, which covers the body fully but to no avail. She filed a formal complaint after the incident.
She said her father, who is on a visit to Dubai, had travelled on the metro wearing the dhoti on various occasions but had never been stopped.
According to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), there is no official dress code or policy for the Dubai metro. "What has happened is really surprising. There is no official restriction from the RTA and we have not given instructions on dress codes," said Ramadan Abdullah, director of operations at the RTA's Rail Agency.
"I think anything that covers the body and is respectable should be allowed. I believe it was a personal reaction on the part of the policeman and this matter will be investigated," he added.