Footage from a British Asian supermarket, Masala Bazaar in Romford, has circulated online showing separate queues for men and women during a promotional sale for cooking oil. The video, filmed during the store's third anniversary celebration, depicts women, many in traditional Muslim dress, waiting on one side of the store while men lined up on the opposite side. The event took place on August 28, where shoppers received bottles of vegetable oil. In subsequent days, similar gender-divided queues formed for other promotional items, including meat and frozen fish.
The store manager, Zayuber, stated that while customers were instructed to line up, the separation occurred naturally due to the large turnout and congestion. He noted that after a brief period, customers returned to a mixed queue. A worker at the store clarified on social media that there was no policy or religious rule requiring segregated queues, attributing the arrangement to the high volume of customers.
Romford has experienced demographic changes over the years, with the white population decreasing from 95.2% in 2001 to 75.3% today, while the Asian population has increased from 2.1% to 10.7%. Masala Bazaar, owned by Euro Foods Group and founded by entrepreneur Shelim Hussain, operates multiple locations across the UK. Social media reactions to the video included concerns about the gender separation, with some users questioning the necessity of such arrangements in England.