A barber who was taken to the Australian Human Rights Commission for refusing to cut a girl’s hair has revealed the ordeal had left him mentally angry and exhausted.
Sam Rahim has this week settled a complaint brought against him by a mother, after the Sydney barber shop owner told her he was only trained to cut men’s hair.
The operator of Hunters Hill Barber, in the city’s north, said the legal ordeal had left him ‘really exhausted’.
‘There were times where I didn’t want to be at work,’ he told Daily Mail Australia today.
A barber who was taken to the Australian Human Rights Commission for refusing to cut a girl’s hair has revealed the ordeal had left him mentally angry and exhausted
Sam Rahim (pictured with wife Ronda) was taken to the Australian Human Rights Commission in April after ‘politely’ telling a woman he wasn’t trained to cut her daughter’s hair
‘I was mentally really angry. It was pretty stressful. I was sleepless at night.
‘It’s something no one wants in their life.’
The married business owner with two children said the complaint had also put him in a bad mood with customers.
‘Many times, I apologised to my locals if I was a bit angry,’ he said.
‘They said look, “We understand what you’re going through. It’s not easy”.
Mr Rahim was taken to the Australian Human Rights Commission in April after ‘politely’ telling a woman, understood to be a lawyer, he wasn’t trained to cut her daughter’s hair.
The operator of Hunters Hill Barber, in the city’s north, said the legal ordeal had left him ‘really exhausted’
This week, he reached an out-of-court settlement with the girl’s mother regarding that ‘misunderstanding’ with her in December.
In anticipation of a costly Federal Circuit Court case, he set up a Go Fund Me page and raised $32,415.
Mr Rahim, who was accused of breaching the federal Sex Discrimination Act, said he would now cut any customer’s hair regardless of their gender.
‘I am happy to say that the proceedings have now been resolved,’ he wrote on Facebook on Monday.
‘The girl is welcome to enter my barber shop any time and I would be happy to provide the same service to her as I do for other customers, regardless of gender.’
The mother, who is understood to be a Sydney-based lawyer, had filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and taken the matter to court.
In anticipation of a costly Federal Circuit Court case, he set up a Go Fund Me page and raised $32,415
The barber, however, has revealed he had reached an out-of-court settlement with the girl’s mother regarding that ‘misunderstanding’ with her in December
Mr Rahim described the episode as a ‘misunderstanding between the parties’.
In April, Mr Rahim told the Nine Network’s Today show the woman’s daughter could have gone to a nearby hairdresser.
‘It’s really hurtful to be honest,’ he said.
Mr Rahim’s wife Ronda said her husband wasn’t qualified to cut girls’ or women’s hair and highlighted the protections afforded to other female-only businesses.
‘He’s a barber, not so much a hairdresser. He just couldn’t do the cut because of the skill that he’s got,’ she said.
‘It just happens to be that the daughter’s mother is a lawyer. So when Sam refused the cut, based on his skill, she wasn’t happy with that outcome.
‘We’re all for gender equality and we understand there’s a Sex Discrimination Act. But the fact is, there are laws to protect female gyms and female-only services.’
Mr Rahim’s wife Ronda (pictured together) said her husband wasn’t qualified to cut girls’ or women’s hair
Mr Rahim (pictured) is being taken to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia after declining to cut the girl’s hair
Ms Rahim said the matter was taken to the Human Rights Commission in an attempt to have it resolved, but the mother ‘wasn’t happy’ with the couple’s apology.
She said her husband was served papers to appear in the Federal Circuit Court.
‘I’ve got two kids. I’ve had to drag them to go find legal advice because we have just never been to court or been in this situation,’ she said.
‘We were just kind of shocked because we just didn’t think that someone would just take it so far.’ Mr Rahim reiterated that he is not trained to cut girls’ hair and has no experience in doing so.
‘The reason we rejected it is because it is a barber shop. I only specialise in cutting men’s hair. And I’m not qualified to cut female’s hair. That’s pretty much it,’ he said.
Mr Rahim is worried about how this will impact it will have on his livelihood, especially with young family to support
Australian Hairdressing Council chief executive Sandy Chong said there were clear differences in the skills required to cut men’s and women’s hair.
The complainant had told Daily Mail Australia she had brought a case against the shop for an alleged breach of the Sex Discrimination Act.
‘The basis of the claim is that the barber shop refused to simply run the clippers through my daughter’s undercut, because she was a girl,’ she said in a statement.
‘I indicated to him that I did not need him to style, cut or trim the rest of her hair, which is styled in a ”bob”.
‘Mr Rahim’s explanation was that he wished to keep his barber shop for boys and men only. He never said he was not qualified to cut women or girls’ hair, as he has incorrectly reported to the media.’
Mr Rahim is now being accused of breaching anti-discrimination laws and was told he had embarrassed the women’s daughter