Asian Supermarket Addresses Viral Videos of Segregated Queues

Videos circulating online appear to show separate queues for men and women at a Masala Bazaar supermarket in Romford, east London, during recent promotional sales.

Footage captured at the store, which specializes in halal meat and South Asian produce, shows women and children queuing on one side of the store while men formed a separate line on the other, separated by chest freezers. The videos were reportedly filmed during celebrations marking the store's third anniversary, which took place between August 26 and August 31.

During these events, staff were distributing promotional items including cooking oil, joints of meat, and frozen fish. According to a store worker, the queues formed organically due to "severe congestion" and a "large turnout of customers" attracted by the anniversary offers. He stated that there was no policy or religious rule requiring segregated queues and that customers were not instructed to stand apart.

"It was chaos and people were trying to take more than they should," said Zayuber, the Romford store manager. "We told customers they needed to line up, but we can't control them. People automatically started queuing with the men on one side and the women on the other. After about a minute, everyone was back together."

Another store employee echoed this sentiment, explaining that the store had to create two queues to manage the large number of people and distribute items more efficiently. "The men stood with the men and the women with the women. We didn't tell anyone where to stand. They formed the queues themselves," he added.

Masala Bazaar is owned by Euro Foods Group, founded by entrepreneur Shelim Hussain. The company operates supermarkets in several UK locations, including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, and Newport.

Social media users who shared the footage expressed a range of reactions, with some voicing concerns about the apparent segregation. One user commented, "Nobody passed a law saying England would adopt sex-segregated queues." Another stated, "I can't quite believe my eyes. This is the UK in 2026. Gender segregation has no place here."

A local woman observed demographic changes in Romford, noting that the area has undergone significant cultural change in recent decades. She commented on the shift in the local population and acknowledged that while the queuing arrangement might bother some, she personally did not mind it, though she found the situation potentially intimidating at times.