Indonesia’s Aceh province female flight crews to wear Hijab

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: An Indonesian province said on Tuesday it 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 the Islamic 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 which includes provincial capital Banda Aceh.

"I hope the airlines respect the uniqueness of Aceh where Sharia (Islamic law) is implemented," he told AFP, adding that he would aim to meet with some half dozen 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," Ali added.

"If a Muslim crew member fails to comply, we will reprimand her. If she does it repeatedly, I will order Sharia police to nab her." He did not say what sort of punishment would apply to those who refused to comply, though hijab violations usually result in a stern reprimand.

Ali said any sanction would not include public flogging -- a common punishment in Aceh for a host of crimes including selling alcohol. It was unclear how many flight attendants could be affected.

Many women in Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, do not wear the hair-covering scarf 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.