Australia: Men banned from female-only council events

Article here. Excerpt:

'Men are increasingly being banned from council events in Melbourne because it's not appropriate for men to mix with Muslim women, a newspaper reports.

The Darebin Council will ban men from a music concert in December, while another female-only event marking the end of Ramadan was recently cancelled, the Herald Sun reports.

Darebin Mayor Diana Asmar said these events were aimed at women who, "due to their cultural and religious backgrounds, cannot attend events where men and women both attend".

The paper reports the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has backed the bans, and declared councils no longer needed to apply to the court for such exemptions.

Darebin Council originally asked the court for an exemption under the Equal Opportunities Act to stage the women-only events, but was told the events did not discriminate and special exemption was unnecessary.'