Finland Sikh fights for right to wear turban
Wednesday, 22/05/2013
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LONDON: A Sikh bus driver in Finland, who was ordered by his employers to remove his turban, is fighting for his right to wear the traditional headgear at work.
Gill Sukhdarshan Singh works at the Veolia bus company in Vantaa near the Finnish capital of Helsinki. He came to Finland in the 1980s, making him one of the first Sikhs to arrive in the Scandinavian country. Following a visit to Punjab in December last year, Gill decided to start wearing a turban at work. That was fine with his employer for two months, before the management ordered him to remove it to comply with uniform rules.
“I have a right to my turban, and I am a Sikh. I believe it is no problem to any other religion, we do not disturb any other religion, we only believe in our own religion,” Gill told Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE.
Gill’s son Sukhnavdeep Singh Gill said he was keen on completing his military service for Finland, wearing a turban. “I want to be part of it and my religion shouldn’t be a problem. I don’t want to be treated differently, it’s my right,” said Sukhnavdeep. Other Scandavian countries such as Norway and Sweden allow Sikhs in the military to wear the turban.
“I pay tax, I work hard. My wife is also a bus driver, she pays tax. Our children were born in Finland, are studying in Finland, and we feel this is (a question of) minority rights. We have our own culture, we have our own religion,” said Gill. Lawyers say any legal challenge to the turban ban would be successful.
