Muslim Hate of Cosmetics
Secular Turks see red over airline's lipstick ban
By REUTERS
05/03/2013
New Turkish Airlines policy bans stewardesses from wearing red, dark
pink make-up that "impairs visual integrity," could cause a sexual
frenzy.
ISTANBUL- 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 colors by
our cabin crew impairs visual integrity," the statement said.
Turkish Airlines declined a request for further 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, one of Turkey's most recognised brands.
"This new guideline is totally down to Turkish Airlines management's
desire to shape the company to fit its own political and ideological
stance," Atilay Aycin, president of the airline's Hava-Is labour union,
told Reuters.
"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.
Turkish 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-style 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 mockups 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.