Female flight crews must wear hijab in Aceh

BANDA ACEH: An Indonesian province is ordering Muslim female flight attendants landing in the region to don a hijab upon arrival – or face punishment by religious police.

Muslim women in Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, are required to wear a headscarf under religious law, while non-Muslim females can opt to wear modest clothing instead.

But some Muslim flight attendants who do not regularly wear the hijab were skipping the local practice during short layovers, forcing Aceh to issue the new regulations, said Mawardy Ali, head of Aceh Besar district.

“I hope the airlines respect the uniqueness of Aceh where syariah law is implemented,” he said yesterday, adding that he aimed to meet with some affected airlines this week.

“We are disseminating this regulation to the airlines through the end of this week. Later, we’ll talk about punishment if we find there have been violations,” he said.

“If a (Muslim) crew member fails to comply, we will reprimand her. If she does it repeatedly, I will order syariah police to arrest her.”

He did not say what punishment would apply to those who refused to comply, though hijab violations usually result in a stern reprimand.

Mawardy said any sanction would not include public flogging – a common punishment in Aceh for a host of crimes, including selling alcohol and having gay sex.

Many women in Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, do not wear the headscarf and Islamic law only applies in Aceh – the region won special autonomy in 2001 as part of a deal to end a long-running separatist insurgency.

Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda and its low-cost arm Citilink service Banda Aceh, which hosts the province’s main airport.

Garuda said it would adhere to the new rules and might add a special uniform worn by its female staff on Middle-East bound flights – which includes the hijab – to Aceh flights.