Air France Female Flight Attendants Protest Mandatory Hijab in Iran
According to a report by France 24, a number of flight attendants from Air France are protesting a new circular issued by the airline requiring compliance with Islamic hijab when entering Tehran.
As reported by the French news agency, Christopher Piat, a representative of the airline flight attendants union, confirmed the discontent of female flight attendants with this circular.
He stated that Air France female cabin crew members contact the union office daily and say that “they do not want to wear a headscarf.”
French media have reported that based on a new circular issued by Air France, female flight attendants have been asked to wear a headscarf and cover their hair when disembarking the plane in Tehran.
The circular also requires female cabin crew members to wear loose-fitting pants and jackets throughout the flight.
Starting April 17 (April 29 in the Persian calendar), direct Air France flights from Paris to Tehran, which had been suspended since 2008, are set to resume.
Air France-KLM aircraft will operate three times a week from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport starting mid-April.
While the representative of the airline flight attendants union has called for Air France management to declare hijab usage as voluntary, the airline’s managers say that staff members of other international airlines also comply with the hijab law when flying to Iran.
The company has also stated that compliance with hijab when entering Iran is an issue that had been implemented previously and noted that this requirement is similarly observed for entry into Saudi Arabia.
France 24, quoting Piat, also reported that Air France management has mentioned the possibility of fining individuals who do not comply with the new dress code regulations.
According to Iranian law, compliance with Islamic hijab in public places is mandatory, and based on an Islamic Consultative Assembly decision in 1983, non-compliance is subject to punishment.
