Unacceptable attire : Attendant falls short(s) of hospital dress code

Man had to wear father’s head cover as a dhoti to gain access

LAHORE: Wearing shorts and visiting a medical facility is apparently unacceptable, especially if it is called the Combined Military Hospital.

This was discovered the hard way by one man in his mid-thirties when he brought his father to the facility for a heart checkup. When the two reached the entrance, they were halted in their tracks as the son was in attire unacceptable to the administration.

The boy, who requested anonymity, tried to convince security personnel to let him in as both men had travelled more than 40 kilometres from an area of Sheikhupura.



However, the security personnel were adamant not to let him enter. The man, a PhD holder, asked security personnel to show him the dress code in writing. That is when he they pointed to a sign posted about 12 feet high and told him that the last line dictates nobody wearing shorts can enter.



Muhammad Rafique, the father, told The Express Tribune that they were confused over the matter. The two then weighed their options which included going to the nearest shopping mall to buy some trousers.

Ultimately, the father was carrying a safa (head cover) and told his son he could possibly wear that piece of cloth as a dhoti. He wore the cloth over his shorts and was then covered up to the ankles, thus adhering to the medical facility’s “dress code”.

He said they tried to enter the hospital a second time and were again stopped by the security guard.

However, the two finally gained access when a supervisor asked his junior to let them through.

“We walked towards the doctor’s room and my attendant attracted some attention wearing his dhoti under a t-shirt. Some even snickered at the site,” the father said.



“Our ordeal took another turn for the worse when a security guard suddenly called out and asked my son what he was wearing under the dhoti, perhaps thinking the man was hiding explosives.”

He added the duo tried to explain that the protruding items were mobile phones and wallets, but the guard replied by saying dhotis do not have pockets. Ironically and equally embarrassingly, the guard requested him to remove the dhoti and then proceed to the doctor’s room in his shorts.

CMH Administration Officer Colonel Zakir told The Express Tribune that there was a dress code for visitors and no one can enter in shorts, tracksuits, slippers or shabby cloths.

He said these codes existed due to the reservations of visitors and was applicable across the board. He said dhotis are allowed at the facility.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2017.