THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Turkish Airlines has banned air hostesses from wearing brightly-coloured lipsticks such as red or pink, a move which has sparked fierce debate as the government is accused of trying to Islamise the country, local media reported today.
Numerous women posted pictures of themselves wearing bright red lipstick on social media websites to protest at the measure, part of a new aesthetics code for stewardesses working for Turkey's main airline.
The lipstick ban is the latest in a string of conservative measures adopted by the airline, which have sparked the ire of fiercely secular Turks.
"This measure is an act of perversion. How else could you describe it?" said Gursel Tekin, vice-president of the main opposition party CHP.
Turkish Airlines defended the ban, saying in a statement yesterday that "simple make-up, immaculate and in pastel colours, is preferred for staff working in the service sector".
In recent months the booming airline - which is 49 percent state-owned - has also stopped serving alcohol on internal flights. » | Agence France-Presse in Ankara | Wednesday, May 01, 2013
