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Strictest dress codes - 5 countries with fashion police
Earlier this week, the "Burqa Ban" went into effect in France. Since passing into law, several burqa draped women have already been arrested, and the symbolic law is causing an uproar among the Muslim population of France and beyond. However, France is not the only country with authoritative garment laws. Many countries possess laws that limit what citizens and visitors are allowed to wear.
According to Foreign Policy magazine, these five countries have some of the strictest dress code laws in the world. The list includes countries from three continents, though France is the lone western world inclusion. It is odd that a country known for its fashion houses and pioneering designers is also home to such an autocratic fashion law. I would expect this sort of posturing from the American South, but clothing oppression along the Champs-Élysées seems a bit misplaced.
France - Ban on burqas and niqabs
In April 2011, France's law against burqas and niqabs went into effect. Essentially, the law is a ban on the traditional female Muslim dress and allows a police officer to verbally request removal of the veil before escorting any violator to a police station for ID verification and removal. Gadling blogger Meg Nesterov covered all of the details in a post earlier this week. The fine is 150 Euros for a first time offender and 30,000 Euros for a male that forces a woman to wear a burqa or niqab. I believe the excessiveness of the 30,000 Euro fine reveals the true intent of the law, but to fight the perception of oppression across cultures with oppression is a bizarre strategy.
Saudi Arabia - Ban on bare skin and cross-dressing
The old Kingdom of Saud has always been a leader in fashion constriction. Saudi Arabia is home to some of the strictest social laws on the planet, many applying exclusively to women. This separation of legal restrictions by sex seems austere by western standards, and though every country governs from a different cultural perspective, Saudi Arabia seems excessively sexist - placing 129 out of 134 countries in the 2010 Global Gender Gap Report. Aside from requiring a male guardian, a Saudi Woman must also wear a niqab and abaya in public as to not expose bare skin. Men also have restrictions - they are not allowed to cross-dress.
Bhutan - Required gho and kira in public
Considered one of the happiest countries on the planet, Bhutan calculates its output in GNH - Gross National Happiness. While it is rare to read a word on Bhutan without being reintroduced to this policy on happiness, there are also other, less known measures in place to maintain Bhutanese culture. For example, all Bhutanese citizens must adhere to a strict dress code. In public, men must wear a gho - a knee length robe, and women must wear a kimono known as a kira. The dress code is older than the current kingdom and is known as Driglam Namzha.
North Korea - No pants for ladies and hair cuts for man
The hermit kingdom is one of the least visited countries on the planet. The lack of outside influences has bolstered the frozen in time North Korean culture. North Korea has a dead president, a money-pit ghostscraper, and laws governing a man's maximum hair length. In North Korea, men are supposed to trim their hair every 15 days, and older men are given leniency so that their hair can grow long enough to cover bald spots. While most men are allotted a maximum hair length of two inches, fifty year old men and older can grow their hair an additional 3/4 inch. Women are not permitted to wear pants, and if an infraction occurs, the pant wearing offender faces a stint at one of the North's horrendous labor camps.
Sudan - No make-up for men and lashes for pant-wearing women
In Sudan, women are punished for wearing pants with lashes and a hefty fine. Sudanese public decency laws are extremely strict and bear the beliefs of the predominantly Arab north. The tumultuous country is home to violent religious differences. With almost 600 ethnicities and a serious wedge between the Muslim north and Christian south, Sudan has been a poster child for racial intolerance for decades. While women are prohibited from wearing trousers, men too have laws governing their behavior. Last December, seven men were arrested and charged with public indecency for wearing makeup at a fashion show.
flickr images via Ranoush & Jadis 1958
In April 2011, France's law against burqas and niqabs went into effect. Essentially, the law is a ban on the traditional female Muslim dress and allows a police officer to verbally request removal of the veil before escorting any violator to a police station for ID verification and removal. Gadling blogger Meg Nesterov covered all of the details in a post earlier this week. The fine is 150 Euros for a first time offender and 30,000 Euros for a male that forces a woman to wear a burqa or niqab. I believe the excessiveness of the 30,000 Euro fine reveals the true intent of the law, but to fight the perception of oppression across cultures with oppression is a bizarre strategy.
Saudi Arabia - Ban on bare skin and cross-dressing
The old Kingdom of Saud has always been a leader in fashion constriction. Saudi Arabia is home to some of the strictest social laws on the planet, many applying exclusively to women. This separation of legal restrictions by sex seems austere by western standards, and though every country governs from a different cultural perspective, Saudi Arabia seems excessively sexist - placing 129 out of 134 countries in the 2010 Global Gender Gap Report. Aside from requiring a male guardian, a Saudi Woman must also wear a niqab and abaya in public as to not expose bare skin. Men also have restrictions - they are not allowed to cross-dress.
Bhutan - Required gho and kira in publicConsidered one of the happiest countries on the planet, Bhutan calculates its output in GNH - Gross National Happiness. While it is rare to read a word on Bhutan without being reintroduced to this policy on happiness, there are also other, less known measures in place to maintain Bhutanese culture. For example, all Bhutanese citizens must adhere to a strict dress code. In public, men must wear a gho - a knee length robe, and women must wear a kimono known as a kira. The dress code is older than the current kingdom and is known as Driglam Namzha.
North Korea - No pants for ladies and hair cuts for man
The hermit kingdom is one of the least visited countries on the planet. The lack of outside influences has bolstered the frozen in time North Korean culture. North Korea has a dead president, a money-pit ghostscraper, and laws governing a man's maximum hair length. In North Korea, men are supposed to trim their hair every 15 days, and older men are given leniency so that their hair can grow long enough to cover bald spots. While most men are allotted a maximum hair length of two inches, fifty year old men and older can grow their hair an additional 3/4 inch. Women are not permitted to wear pants, and if an infraction occurs, the pant wearing offender faces a stint at one of the North's horrendous labor camps.
Sudan - No make-up for men and lashes for pant-wearing women
In Sudan, women are punished for wearing pants with lashes and a hefty fine. Sudanese public decency laws are extremely strict and bear the beliefs of the predominantly Arab north. The tumultuous country is home to violent religious differences. With almost 600 ethnicities and a serious wedge between the Muslim north and Christian south, Sudan has been a poster child for racial intolerance for decades. While women are prohibited from wearing trousers, men too have laws governing their behavior. Last December, seven men were arrested and charged with public indecency for wearing makeup at a fashion show.
flickr images via Ranoush & Jadis 1958
Filed under: Activism, Arts and Culture, Africa, Asia, Europe, Sudan, Bhutan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, France, News, Middle East
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Megan, blogger Apr 13th 2011 1:51PM
I am always unnerved when countries, like France, pass laws trying to oppress free choice with religious garments. There is a large difference between attempting to convert someone by spouting rhetoric in the streets, and dressing appropriately according to their religion. The French goverment should try and have some cultural understanding.
As for the other countries, gender roles are so fixed, I would not find it surprising to see an equally low number of open gays. Without an ability to express themselves, how can people claim to be the happiest?
Joe Apr 14th 2011 1:57AM
I believe the French tried to be tolerant but just gave up on the idea. It really was causing a lot of strife with their idea of laicité. Tolerance comes from mutual respect and for them, the ones wearing the niqab weren't respecting them.
I believe the number was less than 2000 women who wear a face covering dress. So this law affects a very small number of people. But there are already talks about how it will interfere with festivals and and costume parties.
Suzy Apr 13th 2011 2:22PM
On an ironic note, outside of Saudi Arabia, even members of the House of Saud do not abide by the dress codes. One of the princes came to stay at my hotel along with his entourage of 40, including his wife. I expected very modest women with all sorts of covering. I was quite surprised when they showed up dressed like a Kardashian. Skinny jeans, halter tops, and hair flowing in the wind.
Joe Apr 14th 2011 1:59AM
My wife was on board a flight when some of the royal family came aboard. The women were out of their niqab before the wheels left the ground.
linda leaming Apr 13th 2011 4:25PM
Love your site and this is an interesting article. It's not that the Bhutanese have to "adhere to a strict dress code in public" so much as they are required to wear gho and kira to government offices and in dzongs and temples. It's a fine point, but one that matters in Bhutan.
barbara Apr 13th 2011 7:23PM
if they are going to ban certain clothing, or expect people to wear particular clothes, """PLEASE""" bring a ban to everyone who wears the low ride baggy jeans that show every thing from the hips down.. and you know what i mean, they show every body bit possible..
Mike Apr 13th 2011 7:53PM
" I would expect this sort of posturing from the American South". That's right b/c there is no racism or intolerance in the North or in California. While you're at it why don't you make some racist stereotypes. For a travel site I would expect a little more tolerance of people and values no matter where they are from.
Aleida Apr 13th 2011 8:16PM
That's pretty intense. Clothing expresses so much about an individual and their culture. For example, you'd have to wrestle my jeans away from me because I hate skirts and in the States, I'm allowed to wear pants so I do.
kath Apr 13th 2011 9:59PM
"I would expect this sort of posturing from the American South, but clothing oppression along the Champs-Élysées seems a bit misplaced."
Wow. That was ignorant and offensive.
Jana Apr 13th 2011 10:38PM
"I would expect this sort of posturing from the American South..."
Since travel is supposed to be broadening, perhaps you should take some time to actually travel in the American South and get to know the people there before making such sweeping generalizations.
katie Apr 14th 2011 10:18AM
I'm sorry but the law in France is not oppressive at all. Maybe you haven't heard, but women are forced by men and "Allah" to wear burkas and head-scarves. If anything, finally it's liberating women who are daily oppressed by a religious invented by power-hungry men.
hlh63 Apr 14th 2011 11:09AM
"I would expect this sort of posturing from the American South, but clothing oppression along the Champs-Élysées seems a bit misplaced."
Please explain what you meant when you made that particularly ignorant statement about the American south? We're waiting...
Justin Delaney Apr 14th 2011 11:39AM
While my comments on the south may have been slightly harsh, as a 22 year resident, I feel qualified to opine about the treatment of Muslim Americans living in this area of the United States. As a Muslim, I feel that some southerners (though not all) resent me for my beliefs, and while this is okay, I feel entitled as a Muslim Southerner to make a joke about this religious intolerance. As for my charges of treason against the American South, I will fight these charges in the court of comments.
I get paid by the comment, so bring it on.
James Apr 15th 2011 4:26PM
We appeal for reason and tolerance throughout the world. Except toward the American South, based on residency qualifiers? Ummm, maybe blogs on tolerance is what you are best suited for?
Charles Jun 5th 2011 3:36PM
The USA needs to be on this list. Here, everyone is a member of the gender police concerning what MEN wear; whereas, concern used to be expressed over women wearing PANTS. Chicago had to amend a city ordinance forbidding WOMEN to wear PANTS, so that they could wear pants in war factories (NY Times, Jan 21, 1943, page 24). TODAY if any man wants to wear a SKIRT he's told "it HAS to be a kilt" (no restrictions on trouser styles used by women!) or he faces denunciation as a "cross-dresser." Yet, men wore skirts as men for 1,000's of years as any Google image search on "Roman generals" or "Roman soldiers" or "Greek soldiers" or "Sumerians" et al reveals. What people wear is caused by social forces and learned behavior---not sex hormones, unless it's a bra being discussed. Social forces (horseback riding) put men into pants. Social forces---factory work in world wars---put women into pants. Men retained skirts only in isolated areas like Scotland, Greece, Albania and the South Seas. But there's nothing innately about skirts making them "female."