Air France Stewardesses Refuse to Wear Head Scarves in Iran

Air France flight attendants are unhappy about a new policy requiring them to wear headscarves, loose clothing and trousers when flying to Iran, where they will also be banned from smoking in public places, according to news reports on Sunday.

Good on you #AirFrance staff. Kudos for standing up for yourselves. Nothing should be imposed on anyone. https://t.co/lIOLQZUAog

— Vinita A Shetty (@vinitagsingh) April 3, 2016

The new order, revealed by Mashable, mainly addresses female flight attendants and does not have any new regulations for their male counterparts. Union representatives have expressed their discontent and asked for protests when flights to Tehran resume later this month.

The French National Union of Commercial Flights Personnel called the dress code “an attack on freedom of conscience and individual freedoms, and invasion of privacy.”

While the Union of Civil Aviation Flight Attendants, or UNAC, went as far as to write a letter to France's minister for women's rights and families,  Laurence Rossignal, in which it calls the new clothing regulations "true threats to their dignity.”

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The letter asks that the dress code should instead be made voluntary for women to follow, so that it does not limit “French women’s liberties”.

Air France has responded saying that this obligation does not hold during the flight, but merely once the plane has landed. It is already respected by all international airlines flying to Iran and that they were simply imposing Iranian law.

Just like other foreign visitors, flight attendants will be "obliged to respect the laws of the countries to which they travelled … Iranian law requires that a veil covering the hair be worn in public places by all women on its territory.”

I know it's simplistic but all I can think is how ridiculous that there's a row over piece of material! #AirFrance https://t.co/GlNuIk42Cf

— Stuart Norval (@StuartNorval) April 3, 2016

Unions claim that they are not fighting the dress code itself but the fact that it is enforced.

“It is not our role to pass judgement on the wearing of head scarves 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,” the head of the UNAC explained.

Air France unions are therefore demanding that female attendants should be allowed to refuse any flights to Iran without suffering consequences to their wages or overall careers.

Air France has replied to that argument, referring to French law that “allows for “the restriction of individual liberties” if “justified by the nature of the task to be accomplished.”