May 02, 2007
WESTERN hairstyles are out. And don't even think about plucking your eyebrows.
That's what Iranian police have warned barbers and their male customers.
Reuters reported that Iranian newspapers have been carrying these reports in the past week in what appears to be another sign of the authorities cracking down on clothing and other fashion deemed to be against Islamic values.
Since hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005 on a promise of returning to the values of the revolution, hardliners have pressed for tighter controls on what they consider immoral behaviour.
'Western hairstyles ... have been banned,' the newspaper Etemad said in a front-page headline.
The week before, reports said, police launched a crackdown against young women in short, bright, skimpy clothing.
Iran's Islamic Shariah law, imposed after the 1979 revolution, dictates that women cover their heads and wear long, loose-fitting clothes.
Those who flout the law can be whipped, fined and jailed.
Young Iranian men, especially in affluent areas of the capital, Teheran, have been paying more attention to their appearances lately. And spiked hairdos, like the Khorusi (Rooster) style, is popular. Some also use makeup.
Several men's hairdressers offer haircuts in styles made famous by western celebrities. Clients can also have their eyebrows plucked or have makeup applied.
Now barbers' union head Mohammad Eftekharifard says the police had instructed it to 'exercise specific regulations in barber shops that work under its supervision'.
Barbers who do not follow these rules might be closed down for a month and even lose their permits to operate, Etemad quoted him as saying..