Muslim mother cites racism after she and daughter forced to leave pool
City says staff thought child was struggling with swimming in deep end of Mississauga pool.

TheStar.com
July 20, 2016
Sammy Hudes

A Mississauga woman who was told she and her daughter had to leave a public swimming pool says city staff discriminated against them for being Muslim.

Shazia Dawood took her 11-year-old daughter Birra Alyas to the Applewood Heights outdoor pool in Mississauga on Friday. Dawood said while watching her daughter, who has autism, swim in the shallow end, a lifeguard approached her and told her she must be in the pool with her daughter and within arm’s reach for safety reasons.

Dawood, who did not bring a swimsuit with her, explained she wouldn’t be swimming due to religious reasons, since there were men in the pool. Instead, she’d stand at the edge and make sure her daughter played in the shallow end only.

But the lifeguard told Dawood they’d have to leave if she wasn’t going to get in the water, she says.

“When I saw my daughter, the tears on her eyes, I said no. I decided I will not go,” said Dawood.

The two staff called security, who forced Dawood and her daughter to leave but advised her to contact the city regarding the incident. Dawood said the lifeguard and her coworker laughed as this went on.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I said that was only racism because I didn’t do anything.”

Dawood said Mississauga’s aquatics manager later told her the lifeguards were concerned about her daughter swimming in the deep-end, which Dawood insists did not occur, and may have thought she was under the age of 9.

Children between 6 and 9 years old must be directly supervised in the water and within arms’ reach, according to the city’s aquatics admissions standards.

“I know that is excuses because to enter the pool and leave the pool I need a pass and we are very active members of this community,” said Dawood, adding staff would have seen her daughter’s age on her identification card. “I told her she is 11 and almost 12, but nobody listened to me at that time.”

The city’s aquatics manager met with Dawood and her daughter Wednesday to offer an apology.

“We strive to ensure all of our facilities are inclusive and welcoming to all residents and take all complaints very seriously. Our staff were concerned for the child’s safety and swimming ability as she was moving into deeper water and appeared to be struggling,” said Mississauga’s recreation manager Jodi Robillos in an emailed statement.

“We have met with staff to reinforce better ways to communicate with our customers and other strategies to ensure safety in the water,” she said. “Staff will continue to follow up with the family as requested at today’s meeting.”

Dawood, originally from Pakistan, has lived in Canada for 14 years. She said her daughter has taken several swimming lessons in the Mississauga Valley Community Centre and often swims alone at Applewood Heights.

“She’s a happy child, she has no physical disease,” her mother said. “She loves swimming. Her favourite thing.”

Dawood said the apology is meaningless at this point and they likely wouldn’t return to Applewood Heights.

“We feel not comfortable because this happened,” said Dawood. “To apologize is not enough because she humiliated us in front of everybody.”