TURKISH AIR BANS RED LIPSTICK, NAIL POLISH
Via Airwise
TURKEY'S national airline has barred
female flight attendants from wearing red lipstick and nail polish, striking a
nerve among secular TURKS worried the country is becoming more Islamic.
TURKISH Airlines, EUROPE'S fourth-biggest
carrier, said the ban was aimed at keeping crews "artless and well-groomed
with makeup in pastel tones", as a natural look improved communication
with passengers.
"As a consequence of our
current cabin uniforms not including red, dark pink, et cetera, the use of
lipstick and nail polish in these colours by our cabin crew impairs visual
integrity," the statement said.
DECISION REFLECTS GROWING INFLUENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S
CONSERVATIVE RELIGIOUS VALUES
Turkish airlines declined a request
for comment.
The guideline follows other
restrictions on employees' appearance and on serving alcohol. Critics say they
reflect the influence of the government's conservative religious values at the
fast-growing state-run airline.
"This new guideline is totally
down to TURKISH Airlines management's desire to shape the company to fit its
own political and ideological stance," said Atilay Aycin, president of the
airline's Hava-Is union.
"No one can deny that TURKEY
has become a more conservative, religious country."
Turkey is 99 percent Muslim but the
NATO state and EUROPEAN UNION candidate has a secular constitution.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's
ruling AK Party, which traces its roots to a banned Islamic party, has relaxed
the state's control over the expression of religion, such as once-strict limits
imposed on wearing the Islamic headscarf.
Such restrictions were aimed at
reining in Islamism and improving women's rights, but effectively prevented
many devout women from studying at university or taking government jobs.
TURKISH Airlines scrapped its own
ban on the headscarf more than a year ago, and covered women now work at
check-in counters and at other positions in the company, Aycin said.
Other Turkish carriers also have
guidelines on the appearance of cabin personnel.
HIDDEN AGENDA?
The flag carrier caused a stir
earlier this year when newspapers published mock-ups of a new Ottoman-style
uniform for stewardesses with ankle-length dresses, a proposal the airline's
management appears to have since abandoned.
That was followed by a ban on
alcohol on planes flying to most domestic destinations and some Islamic
countries.
"They are objecting to the
lipstick and nail polish that we have been using for years," said Asli
Gokmen, 30, a flight attendant who lost her job with more than 300 others last
year during a union protest and is petitioning for her position back.
No current employees were available
for comment.
TURKS worried the government is
undermining the country's secular order see a hidden agenda.
On Twitter, women posted pictures
after applying red lipstick. One wrote: "Why not just ban stewardesses
altogether so we can all breathe a sigh of relief?"
Some male Twitter users were
indignant over the insinuation that red lipstick would induce a sexual frenzy.
Turkish Airlines passenger Ahmet
Yerli, 33, said he did not think the new guideline was a sign of creeping
Islamisation but that the ban was still "absurd."
"I've never heard of a plane
crashing because of a women's lipstick," he said before his flight.
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