"There were simply too many people gathering around"
A viral video showing men and women appearing to queue separately during a promotional event at an Asian supermarket in London has sparked online debate.
At Romford’s Masala Bazaar, footage showed women standing with children on one side of the store while waiting to receive discounted cooking oil.
The camera then panned across a row of chest freezers to show a separate queue of men waiting for the same promotional item.
The incident reportedly happened on August 28 as part of the shop’s third anniversary celebrations.
Shoppers formed queues as staff handed out bottles of vegetable oil.
Further queues reportedly formed on other days as the supermarket distributed promotional items including meat and frozen fish.
Despite the apparent gender queues, store manager Zayuber said the separation was unintentional:
“It was so overcrowded in here for the third anniversary. At events like this, we have a ‘power hour’ where we give out free gifts, so everyone wants them.
“It was chaos and people were trying to take more than they should. 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 worker said there were no signs instructing customers to form separate queues based on gender.
He said: “We were giving away oil, fish, quiche, grapes and biscuits. It was extremely busy.
“There were simply too many people gathering around, so we had to create two queues to hand out the food 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.”
The worker also said the arrangement was a response to the large turnout for the anniversary promotions rather than a store policy.
?? Sex-segregated lines in an Essex supermarket have sparked public outrage
Men and women were seen queuing separately inside a grocery store in Romford.
The scene irritated English people, who say they are now forced to obey the rules of Islamist migrants in their own country. pic.twitter.com/iLQakj4Hre
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) September 28, 2026
Nevertheless, the footage has prompted social media reaction, with some users expressing concern about the apparent separation of men and women.
One wrote: “Nobody passed a law saying England would adopt sex-segregated queues.”
Another said: “If a supermarket is actually forcing men and women into separate lines, that’s unacceptable.
“Local authorities and the business should explain who made that rule and whether it complies with UK law. The government needs to make sure the same public rules apply to everyone.”
Some claimed the shoppers, including married couples, stood apart so they could each buy promotional goods.
A woman who has lived in Romford all her life and works at a local gym said:
“The size of the queues would put me off going there anyway. I’ve never seen anything like that in another shop.”
Masala Bazaar specialises in halal meat and South Asian ingredients and is part of Euro Foods Group, which operates supermarkets across the UK.
The group was founded by Bangladeshi-born British entrepreneur Shelim Hussain, whose fortune has been estimated at £105 million.
Alongside its Romford branch, Masala Bazaar has branches in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport.
