Adil Najam
According to a news item in The News, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is going to implement a ban on growing beards – except for French beards – on all male cabin crew:
In a recent notification, PIA administration has announced to have reviewed its policy regarding beards, and said now male cabin crew could not grow beards and they could only have French-cut beards.
Not surprisingly, religious scholars and ulema condemned PIA for this, calling the ban a violation of constitutional and fundamental human rights. Whether this is or is not the most important constitutional violation of our age, the ulema are, in fact, right.
Unless there is a sound technical reason for it (and there seems not to be), forcing someone to take off their beard is deserving of condemnation as much as forcing someone to grow a beard. Especially if either of the act is ideologically motivated; no matter what the ideology. Of course, forcing someone to grow a beard on threat of death or violence is particularly disturbing. But, frankly, a threat to one’s livelihood is also reprehensible.
Right now, I myself do not have a beard. And that is not an ideological statement one way or the other. But my own position remains unchanged from October 2006 when I had commented on facial hair for cricketers:
By way of disclosure I should add that I occasionally sprout facial hair of my own but am mostly clean-shaven. But as a deep and committed adherent of people’s right of expression (how can a blogger not be that!) I stand committed to defend people’s right to facial hair, whether they are grown for stylistic elegance or religious expression.
More pertinent was the June 2006 decision by Habib Bank to ban shalwar kameez and facial hair (by the way, can someone please confirm if that policy was ever implemented). In that case the issue had focused more on the wearing of shalwar kameez to work and the argument that this somehow made the person look less “trustworthy” and less “presentable.” Facial hair were also targeted for the same reason. On the issue of beards, trustworthiness and presentability, my argument was rather simple:
Dr. Abdus Salam? Abdul Sattar Edhi? Sir Syed Ahmed Khan?
Presentable? You bet.
Trustworthy? More than any banker I ever met.
As a rather frequent traveler on PIA – in fact, I read this news item on a PIA plane retruning from Karachi to Islamabad, and one of the cabin staff was supporting a huge beard – I too have noticed that the number of crew members with facial hair, especially large beards, has increased dramatically over the years. But that is a factor of what has been happening in society. PIA has plenty of big problems to deal with, and this seems to be the least of them.
At least in my experience, the quality of service one gets is not at all dependent on the amount of facial hair. Maybe the management should focus on that before it starts following the example of the Swat Taliban in judging people by the length of their facial hair (or not)!
Freedom is an interesting thing. If one is truly free, than can one be free to discriminate at will?
Given the socio-political reality of rampant Islamophobia, specially at/around airports, it makes economic sense for PIA to take measures that places their image beyond this fear. The dilemma is that as they do so, they given credence to the idiotic notion that beards = muslim = terrorists. In the process they’re also trampling on the hirsute desires of their male employees. Which given that they are the International Airlines of the ‘Islamic’ Republic of Pakistan is naturally problematic.
My personal opinion: As a company that should be making a profit so that they can continue to employ their employees (bearded or otherwise) PIA needs to market themselves keeping in mind the socio-political climate. If they decide to re-label themselves as ‘jihadi airlines’ and hire only people with waist-long beards, it would make no business sense. They would also most likely go belly up. Schools have uniforms, corporate companies have formal dress requirements for a simple reason clear to anyone who understands the importance of branding, image building, marketing vis-a-vis profitability and sustainability.
And by looking at PIA’s non-hirsute policies emotively, through religious lens only and arguing passionately against it we’re falling into the same trap (albeit from the polar opposite end of the spectrum) as is the Islamophobic West.
You have to choose a side. If you are against Taliban then you start with taking these beards off. That will teach them!
Adil Bahi
Pakistan has a Mullana Atta ur Rehman as TOURISM MINISTER a bearded hardline brother of great Mullah Diesel.
Hard to imagine any foreign tourist or travel operator at visit Pakistan conferences taking Mullah jee’s “Peaceful Tourist industry” spin seriously.
Who gave him Ministry of Tourism? What a perfect Advertisement for Liberal and modern Pakistan when first order he issue is to ban alcohol for foreigners in hotels.
Bravo Mullah Diesel Junior.
PIA is not banning beards, just over-sized beards. I don’t see a problem with this.
Having a long beard’s doesn’t make one a great Muslim.
There is nothing wrong in keeping a well managed, neat and trimmed beard that does not give an impression of poor personal hygiene.