Female flight attendants for Air France told to cover heads - from TRUNEWS

(TRUNEWS) Female flight attendants working for Air France are refusing a new directive to cover their heads when working in Tehran.

The women have been ordered to cover their hair with headscarves when they get off the plane in Iran, according to The Telegraph. Unions are pushing back, claiming flights to Tehran should be voluntary for women without penalty.

In the next few weeks, service will resume between Paris and Tehran after an eight-year hiatus. It comes as a result of the nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers last summer.

Women in Iran have had to cover their hair since the Islamic revolution of 1979.  But, France has historically been a secular nation.  The flight attendants claim the headscarf requirement is in violation of French law.

In France, hijabs are banned in state schools and offices. It is illegal to wear a full-face Muslim veil in public. French women see the head coverings as demeaning.

“It is not our role to pass judgement on the wearing of headscarves or veils in Iran. What we are denouncing is that it is being made compulsory. Stewardesses must be given the right to refuse these flights,” said Flore Arrighi, the head of UNSC flight crew union.

The airline, which needs to resume flights to Iran to boost their finances, claims other staff must comply with Iran’s rules, so the female flight attendants must be willing to go along with it.

“Tolerance and respect for the customs of the countries we serve are part of the values of our company,” a spokesman said, as reported by The Telegraph.

In Saudi Arabia, female flight attendants must wear long body robes, but face veils are not required.

 

 

UNSC is not the only union objecting. UNSC has also complained.

“Many female members of flight crews have informed us that it is out of the question that they be obliged to wear headscarves. It is not professional and they see it as an insult to their dignity,” said UNSC spokesperson Francoise Redolfi.

There was also a no smoking order given to female flight attendants who disembark in Iran, according to CNBC. Male crew members were not told to refrain from smoking.

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