Istanbul – Turkish Airlines Bans Red Lipstick, Nail Polish

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    Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 in flight. EPA/AIRBUS/HOIstanbul – 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.

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    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 recognized 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 labor 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.

    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 Islamization 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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    15 Comments
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    Boochie
    Boochie
    10 years ago

    i just flew turkish – gantz fina airline

    Aron1
    Active Member
    Aron1
    10 years ago

    Now I’m DEFINITELY not flying Turkish Airlines!

    10 years ago

    If El Al can require that its flight attendants dress in tziniusdike uniforms so as to not offend their Charieidi passengers, why shouldn’t the Turkish airline do the same? On El Al, a flight attendant can be suspended for for wearing skirts that fail to cover their behinds if they bend over or wearing sheer blouses. If the Turks feels red lipstick and mail polish is not tziniusdike under Muslim halacha and customs they should likewise be able to ban it.

    Blogger
    Blogger
    10 years ago

    As the KJ Vaad HaTznius. If its something the head leaders don’t get, then no one is to have it… Totally not on a serious note…

    TzviB
    TzviB
    10 years ago

    Turkish Air. Fly them to Israel. Women fly in the back of the plane.

    yaakov doe
    Member
    yaakov doe
    10 years ago

    What right to have to criticize this? Now if they forced them to wear skimpy uniforms we could criticize.

    enlightened-yid
    enlightened-yid
    10 years ago

    I approve! The current trend in fashion is natural make up look, natural beauty. Red lipstick and colors is so 80s. Time to adopt new trends. At least the airline has not banned hair bleaching. 80% of Turkish women or maybe only flight attendants love to dye their hair blond. They’ll still look good.

    ExpatriateOwl
    ExpatriateOwl
    10 years ago

    So howcum the Turkish Air logo — and the tails of their aircraft — are each red?

    Yoilish
    Yoilish
    10 years ago

    “No current employees were available for comment.”

    heh. Probably not allowed to talk.

    Sarak
    Sarak
    10 years ago

    they wanted erdogan, they wanted islam, fast forward in 10 years it will be in the dumps like egypt, libya, syria iraq afgan etc

    10 years ago

    All of the airlines in the US have similar guidelines for flight attendants including how much jewelry they are allowed to wear.

    basmelech
    basmelech
    10 years ago

    As a woman, I feel red is a garish color and I prefer the natural look. I also think it is nuts to wear colors like blue or purple nail polish. It is a good move for Turkish airlines. Stewardesses are a necessity but they don’t have to be eye catching .

    leahle
    leahle
    10 years ago

    The real issue is not the wearing of lipstick or whether an airline has to right to set a dress code. It is that Turkey went to an extreme form of secularism in an attempt to break from the religion-controlled government of the Ottoman Empire. One can argue that they went too far in banning headcoverings, etc, or one can argue that this was necessary to form a modern, secular nation. The Erdogan government has been encouraging more religious influence and secular Turks are nervous as to whether this is just a correction to allow a religious-secular balance, or the first steps towards becoming an Islamic nation. That is why people are upset.