Airline ends ban on headscarves

Published on 12/11/2012 00:00

EgyptAir is allowing its stewardesses to wear Islamic headscarves if they wish on flights to Arab states and will expand the practice to the rest of the network, ending a restriction imposed in Hosni Mubarak’s era.

It follows a similar move to allow presenters on state television’s flagship news broadcasts to wear the hijab, which covers the hair but not the face.

Although many Egyptian Muslim women wear the scarves, Mubarak’s administration had sought to restrict its usage in places such as on state television and the national carrier which were seen as the public face of Egypt.