Dear reader,
You are here because you are interested in this story that has been told to us all so crassly.
The case has absolutely nothing to do with any religion at all.
It’s a simple matter of dignity and my want to retain mine.
When I started working at Rocket I was required to wear black clothes (trousers and shirt).
On my fourth shift at the restaurant I was given a red tight dress to wear. I immediately refused, as I did not believe that wearing a red dress was appropriate. The bar was already full of men who seem to believe that they can buy anything and parading around in a red dress would make me seem available.
I did not invent the notion that wearing a red dress means that a woman is sexy, flirty, easy, fun, available, and daring. This is what a red dress has come to represent in our culture. And “not many women can carry it off” according to rather a few stylists here in London.
According to one of the Sun's readers I "should be paid to wear a burka" because I am so ugly; a comment that certainly reassures me that I made the right choice not to wear the red dress. It makes me smile.
A waitress has a job to serve the guests. She is to be noticed when she is needed. Other than that no one is interested in a waitress. People go to bars and restaurants to eat, drink and socialize with their friends. Not to look at the staff. The staff should be friendly and approachable. As a waitress I never once believed that I was paid to entertain. To be polite, yes. To be helpful, yes. To serve, yes. But nothing else.
I have worked in bars and restaurants before Rocket. It was mostly to aid to my other income and back in 1994 as a main job for the one and a half years before I went to college.
It is true that I grew up in Muslim family and Muslim community. The last time I felt religious was in 1989. Religion has nothing to do with this case.
This is a simple case of dignity.
None of the people that I know would want their daughters working in that dress in a restaurant/bar.
Those who have been quick to comment about this case in a negative way should re-read the story and pay attention to what is said and written. The case has nothing to do with religion.
I love England. This is my home now. I have spent most of my life here and I am openly grateful to people who live here and who have with their intelligence created a country with rules and regulations and protection to those who may need it.
Although I was born in Bosnia I don’t feel Bosnian more than I feel British. I love both countries in a different way and thanks to such uneducated posts that I have read in response to the article, I yet again feel like I don’t belong to either of the two nations.
And who are any of us to claim a piece of land, a city, a country, for ourselves?
Is your house really yours? Are you really English, Bosnian, Australian, Turkish, Indian, etc., as you may believe that you are? Look at your history. Look at the migrations that humankind has been through during all our times.
The law is here to protect all of us. And I thank those who have created all those laws. And I thank all those who are willing to decide what is right and what is wrong. We all live in one world where we should all be free and be good to one another. Treat each other with love and respect. Help those who need help and protect those who need protecting.
Life and the World are something that you and I have been given and we are equally allowed to enjoy them. All of our lives...
I must also clarify another rather major issue with this story.
After I was no longer working for Rocket I telephoned to inquire about the money that I was owed for the work that I had done. I was told that I would not be paid, as they “would rather give that money to their existing staff”. I was finally paid 7 months later during the Tribunal. The Tribunal judge simply said that I should be paid. I was given cash.
Now, does one have to posses great intellect to know that staff are to be paid? Would you have to wait for the Tribunal to tell you that you should pay your staff?
If I was paid within the 26 days that it took me to see a lawyer I would have most probably never taken any action against them. It felt incredibly unfair and I felt helpless.
The restaurant made a mistake. They insulted me, and all the females. They put the girls in dresses to attract more attention. They cared not that a waitress is already of lower class than those that she serves. Put her in a red lycra dress and you demean her not just as a waitress, but as a person.
I am not unconscious of the fact that working as a waitress is not glamorous. I am ok with that. If it bothered me I would have never looked for a job as a waitress.
I would rather that we all be happy than that we all be superstars or bankers. And the truth is that we all can be happy, we just need to open our hearts and respect one another.
I am not here to belittle anyone or to complain. I have already complained and the law says that I should not have been treated the way that I was. It’s simple. Religion never came in to it. Had I been born in a Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, or Sikh.. a member of any family, I still would have acted the same. This issue deals with morals and principles. I acted with instinct. I never had to think about this at all. It is very straightforward:
I am a person. Not just an employee.
I am a person. Not just a woman.
I did not want to wear the dress. I would rather not work there than wear that dress. I also asked what the boys would be wearing. Their uniform was to remain the same. Is this fair?
Subsequently, they had no work for me. The restaurant could have kept me on to work in a different part of their establishment where they did not change the uniform. They did not.
So I finished the next two shifts and was then without work. I was very stunned with the restaurant's choice of uniform. I asked another waitress to take a photo of me wearing the dress to show to my friends and family why I no longer worked there.
I did not want to wear the dress so I no longer worked there.
Who is wrong and who is right is for the Tribunal to decide.
The £20000 compensation is not what I demand, not something I invented. The law states that this is the minimum amount one shall be paid by their employer if their employer is to be found to have treated him/her unfairly and discriminatory.
The journalist who was more interested in selling his story than telling the actual story has caused a lot of unnecessary trouble. He knew the case had nothing to do with religion. Thanks to people like him with money on their mind, soon, our world will be completely polluted by hate created by a few crafty creative writing journalists.
The article is unfair to Muslim people. I am not a representative of Muslim people.
Rocket restaurant is not a sex club! Anyone knows that.
I had said, at one point, that I thought that perhaps someone is out there holding a board with a sign pointing to Rocket saying something along the lines of it having waitresses to enjoy. And one would get paranoid if approached on regular basis. Then they bring out a rude dress. ???
At the end of the day, I don’t know much. I just go through life looking after myself. I looked after myself. I resisted to someone's demand of me to behave in an undignified way.
I wish that all of you and your daughters, sisters, mothers, cousins... That all women feel strong enough to stand up for their dignity. Regardless of their age, religion or sexual orientation.
Fata Lemes
UPDATE 05.02.2009:
The news is that the restaurant has put in application to reopen the trial to consider the picture of me published by The Sun. The photograph in question was taken during a beach holiday which was then tagged by a friend on Facebook, which subsequently was taken by the press from my Facebook account without my knowledge.
Personal thought on the matter is more of a wonder at what point will I be considered as I am: just a normal woman? Have they read the posts and decided that the majority of people were right to disregard the decency which I seek? I asked for nothing but to be treated as a human.
I just hope that disputes like this will become a thing of the past.
Perhaps they will, once we eventually have robots to do our jobs where one will be allowed to treat them as one wishes, until poor machines acquire feelings. And on it goes. So this inspires a question if it would be wiser just to be decent to one another. (?)
You are here because you are interested in this story that has been told to us all so crassly.
The case has absolutely nothing to do with any religion at all.
It’s a simple matter of dignity and my want to retain mine.
When I started working at Rocket I was required to wear black clothes (trousers and shirt).
On my fourth shift at the restaurant I was given a red tight dress to wear. I immediately refused, as I did not believe that wearing a red dress was appropriate. The bar was already full of men who seem to believe that they can buy anything and parading around in a red dress would make me seem available.
I did not invent the notion that wearing a red dress means that a woman is sexy, flirty, easy, fun, available, and daring. This is what a red dress has come to represent in our culture. And “not many women can carry it off” according to rather a few stylists here in London.
According to one of the Sun's readers I "should be paid to wear a burka" because I am so ugly; a comment that certainly reassures me that I made the right choice not to wear the red dress. It makes me smile.
A waitress has a job to serve the guests. She is to be noticed when she is needed. Other than that no one is interested in a waitress. People go to bars and restaurants to eat, drink and socialize with their friends. Not to look at the staff. The staff should be friendly and approachable. As a waitress I never once believed that I was paid to entertain. To be polite, yes. To be helpful, yes. To serve, yes. But nothing else.
I have worked in bars and restaurants before Rocket. It was mostly to aid to my other income and back in 1994 as a main job for the one and a half years before I went to college.
It is true that I grew up in Muslim family and Muslim community. The last time I felt religious was in 1989. Religion has nothing to do with this case.
This is a simple case of dignity.
None of the people that I know would want their daughters working in that dress in a restaurant/bar.
Those who have been quick to comment about this case in a negative way should re-read the story and pay attention to what is said and written. The case has nothing to do with religion.
I love England. This is my home now. I have spent most of my life here and I am openly grateful to people who live here and who have with their intelligence created a country with rules and regulations and protection to those who may need it.
Although I was born in Bosnia I don’t feel Bosnian more than I feel British. I love both countries in a different way and thanks to such uneducated posts that I have read in response to the article, I yet again feel like I don’t belong to either of the two nations.
And who are any of us to claim a piece of land, a city, a country, for ourselves?
Is your house really yours? Are you really English, Bosnian, Australian, Turkish, Indian, etc., as you may believe that you are? Look at your history. Look at the migrations that humankind has been through during all our times.
The law is here to protect all of us. And I thank those who have created all those laws. And I thank all those who are willing to decide what is right and what is wrong. We all live in one world where we should all be free and be good to one another. Treat each other with love and respect. Help those who need help and protect those who need protecting.
Life and the World are something that you and I have been given and we are equally allowed to enjoy them. All of our lives...
I must also clarify another rather major issue with this story.
After I was no longer working for Rocket I telephoned to inquire about the money that I was owed for the work that I had done. I was told that I would not be paid, as they “would rather give that money to their existing staff”. I was finally paid 7 months later during the Tribunal. The Tribunal judge simply said that I should be paid. I was given cash.
Now, does one have to posses great intellect to know that staff are to be paid? Would you have to wait for the Tribunal to tell you that you should pay your staff?
If I was paid within the 26 days that it took me to see a lawyer I would have most probably never taken any action against them. It felt incredibly unfair and I felt helpless.
The restaurant made a mistake. They insulted me, and all the females. They put the girls in dresses to attract more attention. They cared not that a waitress is already of lower class than those that she serves. Put her in a red lycra dress and you demean her not just as a waitress, but as a person.
I am not unconscious of the fact that working as a waitress is not glamorous. I am ok with that. If it bothered me I would have never looked for a job as a waitress.
I would rather that we all be happy than that we all be superstars or bankers. And the truth is that we all can be happy, we just need to open our hearts and respect one another.
I am not here to belittle anyone or to complain. I have already complained and the law says that I should not have been treated the way that I was. It’s simple. Religion never came in to it. Had I been born in a Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, or Sikh.. a member of any family, I still would have acted the same. This issue deals with morals and principles. I acted with instinct. I never had to think about this at all. It is very straightforward:
I am a person. Not just an employee.
I am a person. Not just a woman.
I did not want to wear the dress. I would rather not work there than wear that dress. I also asked what the boys would be wearing. Their uniform was to remain the same. Is this fair?
Subsequently, they had no work for me. The restaurant could have kept me on to work in a different part of their establishment where they did not change the uniform. They did not.
So I finished the next two shifts and was then without work. I was very stunned with the restaurant's choice of uniform. I asked another waitress to take a photo of me wearing the dress to show to my friends and family why I no longer worked there.
I did not want to wear the dress so I no longer worked there.
Who is wrong and who is right is for the Tribunal to decide.
The £20000 compensation is not what I demand, not something I invented. The law states that this is the minimum amount one shall be paid by their employer if their employer is to be found to have treated him/her unfairly and discriminatory.
The journalist who was more interested in selling his story than telling the actual story has caused a lot of unnecessary trouble. He knew the case had nothing to do with religion. Thanks to people like him with money on their mind, soon, our world will be completely polluted by hate created by a few crafty creative writing journalists.
The article is unfair to Muslim people. I am not a representative of Muslim people.
Rocket restaurant is not a sex club! Anyone knows that.
I had said, at one point, that I thought that perhaps someone is out there holding a board with a sign pointing to Rocket saying something along the lines of it having waitresses to enjoy. And one would get paranoid if approached on regular basis. Then they bring out a rude dress. ???
At the end of the day, I don’t know much. I just go through life looking after myself. I looked after myself. I resisted to someone's demand of me to behave in an undignified way.
I wish that all of you and your daughters, sisters, mothers, cousins... That all women feel strong enough to stand up for their dignity. Regardless of their age, religion or sexual orientation.
Fata Lemes
UPDATE 05.02.2009:
The news is that the restaurant has put in application to reopen the trial to consider the picture of me published by The Sun. The photograph in question was taken during a beach holiday which was then tagged by a friend on Facebook, which subsequently was taken by the press from my Facebook account without my knowledge.
Personal thought on the matter is more of a wonder at what point will I be considered as I am: just a normal woman? Have they read the posts and decided that the majority of people were right to disregard the decency which I seek? I asked for nothing but to be treated as a human.
I just hope that disputes like this will become a thing of the past.
Perhaps they will, once we eventually have robots to do our jobs where one will be allowed to treat them as one wishes, until poor machines acquire feelings. And on it goes. So this inspires a question if it would be wiser just to be decent to one another. (?)
