I know there was one over a driver's license.
Posted on 08/13/2006 7:29:23 PM PDT by aculeus
(Filed: 14/08/2006)
A five-year-old girl's passport application was rejected because her photograph showed her bare shoulders.
Hannah Edwards's mother, Jane, was told that the exposed skin might be considered offensive in a Muslim country.
The photograph was taken at a photo-booth at a local post office for a family trip to the south of France.
Because of the way the camera was set up, the picture came out showing Hannah's shoulders.
The family had it signed and presented it at a post office with the completed form but were told that it would not be accepted by the Passport Office.
A woman behind the counter informed them that she was aware of at least two other cases where applications had been rejected because a person's shoulders were not covered.
Mrs Edwards, a Sheffield GP, said: "I was incensed. I went back home and checked the form. Nowhere did it say anything about covering up shoulders. If it had, I would have done so, but it all seems so unnecessary.
"This is quite ridiculous, I followed the instructions on the passport form to the letter and it was still rejected. It is just officialdom pandering to political correctness.
"It is a total over-reaction. How can the shoulders of a five-year-old girl offend anyone? It's not as if anything else was showing, the dress she wore was sleeveless, but it has a high neck." Hannah had her first passport when she was three months old. Her mother and her father, Martin, realised that it was due to expire during their holiday later this month and decided to renew it advance.
They aimed to complete the application on Saturday, the same day that Hannah was to be Sheffield Wednesday football team's mascot at Hillsborough stadium. Mrs Edwards was also on call from her surgery.
After the rejection at the post office, Mrs Edwards spent two hours taking Hannah for new pictures, filling in a new form and finding the necessary "responsible citizens" to endorse the photos.
"The people who had signed the original application were not available," Mrs Edwards said. "I had to chase around and eventually found a neighbour who was a teacher to sign the pictures.
"The Passport Office should set this sort of thing out in its forms if it is going to be so pedantic."
A spokesman for the Identity and Passport Service said it was not its policy to reject applications with bare shoulders.
"The guidance set out on the application form doesn't include it, this picture should have been absolutely fine," she said. "If people follow those rules there should be no problem.
"The Post Office obviously has its rules and we can't comment on that. We are aware of a case in the past where an error was made involving similar circumstances, although I don't know the exact details. Staff should be aware of the rules."
A Post Office spokesman said: "Our offices have a Passport Office template which says what the photograph should and shouldn't be.
"Bare shoulders don't come into that at all. We can't see any instruction to that effect so all we can do is apologise to Mrs Edwards. It was clearly a mistake made by the clerk at the post office.
"It is the first time we have heard of such a rejection and we will take it up with that particular office.
"We do around three million passport applications a year. It is one of our most popular services and it is normally extremely effective.
"We have a much lower rejection rate compared to applications submitted directly to the Passport Office."
Kawai. Too bad she is growing up surrounded by such stupidity.
Preemptive dhimmitude. Excellent. I'm willing to bet a good sum of cash that NO Muslim complained about that pict, that some uptight lefty appeaser decided to six that picture on the possibility that it might give a Jihadi indigestion.
They do have a long record of never asking what the hell minorities really want and arbitrarily decide $#!+ on their behalf, like the good, arrogant pr!cks they are.
"OH you actually like sports team named after Amerindian tribes? Well too bad. The latest poll of braindead teenagers smoking weed shows that that's a racist thing and as your appointed liberal white guilt jagoffmeister we have decided that you are offended by such blatant intolerance. Now I must go pander to blacks by speaking ebonics even though "Jamal" is speaking in Queen's English."
If I were Muslim, I'd be fken insulted.
"YOu actually think that I'm that much of a brain dead, violent, pedo that I would riot over THIS PICTURE!? Eff you and the multiculti BS you rode in on! Grow some balls and stop kissing ISlamofascist @$$."
Seems the problem. . .and the solution is all theirs.
Surely there is something in the Koran that corresponds to the Biblical admonition 'If thine eyes offend. . .pluck them out'.
If not there should be. . .it surely fits their sensitivites.
If this kid was wearing a belt loaded with explosives, however, it would be OK I guess.
Better weather and better food. Even if the French are such d-ckheads, some things never change. I'd say more attractive women too, but it was a traveling family so you know, of course, that no one in the family would notice ... ahem.
The kid's obviously a slut. Off with her head! < /sarc>
She looks far more mature than those she would offend. And cute as a button, to boot.
Sometimes the bureaucrats that make these decisions to do everything in their power not to upset "sensitive" muslims are inscrutable as to what goes on in their heads especially when they seem to do everything in their power to disregard the sensibilities of almost all other religions. It seems that this approach does nothing but encourage the terrorist elements. We are telling them if you blow up our buildings we will proclaim Islam a "religion of peace", if you threaten us we will comply with even your most ridiculous demands.
The UK is surrending in too many ways to Muslims. In fifty years the country will be dominanted by them and the UK as we have known it will have ceased to exist. Where is Winston when you need him?
Not saying it isn't all true, but...why am I thinking this photogenic cherub's mother is already listening to prospective agents who want to market her? A face like that could sell a lot of soap. Toys. Clothes. Cameras. Greeting cards...
Got that right. And sooner than they think if they don't wake up.
Was the post office Gestapo of the Muslim persuasion perhaps?
FGM does NOT offend the touchy Muslims. Putting sleeping bags on their women is part of their sensitivity. Etc.
They WANT to convert us and impose Sharia Law in the west.
How clearly can this threat be enunciated??
And our GOVERNMENTS are collaborating with them.
I know there was one over a driver's license.
She's practing for the next FL "Chad" counting contest.
great post!
Nothing about Islam suprises me.
In the days after 9-11, the Los Angeles Times reported on police surveillance
transcripts that the Italians made on Al-Quida operatives (well before 9-11).
After their "shop talk", the Islamics launched into a tirade about how
awful the Italian food was.
Hearing that simply cemented my opinion that Islamics are just in-freakin-credibly
NUTS!
Yep, that's kiddie porn alright! Shame on those lousy parents!
Good grief!
That was the situation! Thanks for posting her pic and the info. Just incredible, don't you think?
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