Air France Flight Attendants Protest Mandatory Hijab in Iran

A number of female flight attendants from Air France are protesting a new directive from the airline requiring them to wear Islamic hijab upon entering Tehran. According to a report by Agence France-Presse, Christopher Pie, a representative of the flight attendants' union, has confirmed the dissatisfaction of female attendants regarding this directive. He stated that female crew members of Air France contact the union office daily, expressing that they 'do not want to wear a headscarf.' French media have reported that under a new directive from Air France, female attendants are required to wear a headscarf and cover their hair when disembarking in Tehran. This directive also requires female crew members to wear loose-fitting trousers and jackets during the flight. Direct flights from Paris to Tehran, which had been suspended since 2008, are set to resume on April 17 (29 Farvardin). Air France-KLM planes will operate three flights weekly from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran starting mid-April. While the union representative has called for the management of Air France to announce voluntary hijab use, company officials state that employees of other international airlines also adhere to hijab laws when flying to Iran. The company has also stated that compliance with hijab upon entering Iran is a matter that has been enforced previously and added that similar regulations apply for entry into Saudi Arabia. Agence France-Presse reported that Air France management has also mentioned the possibility of penalizing individuals who do not comply with the new dress code regulations. According to Iranian laws, adherence to Islamic hijab in public places is mandatory, and non-compliance is subject to punishment as per the legislation passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly in 1983.