Hamas Bans Men from Working as Women's Hairdressers in Gaza

p align="justify">Following is an excerpt is from a TV report on a Hamas ban on male hairdressers for women in Gaza, which aired on LBC TV on March 15, 2010.

 

Reporter: Based on a resolution by the Ministry of the Interior in the Gaza government, the Palestinian police have prevented men from working as women's hairdressers, in order to avoid problems, as stated by the Gaza police spokesman.
 

Gaza Police Spokesman Ayman Al-Batanji: This resolution did not come as a surprise. The Palestinian police have received several complaints from customers. The Ministry of the Interior wanted to prevent any future problems.
 

Reporter: Hatem Al-Ghol, who owns a hairdressing salon, said that he heard about the resolution from the media, but did not receive any official notice. He does not conceal his feeling of having been wronged by this resolution, because he has been in this profession for 15 years. He emphasized that Gaza is not an Islamic emirate, which could prevent him from pursuing this profession.
 

Hatem Al-Ghol, hairdresser: If we receive official notification of this resolution, this will be an injustice to Gaza hairdressers. This resolution will cut off our livelihood. They shouldn't view us only as the five, six, or seven hairdressers in Gaza, because even the smallest salon provides for seven families.
 

Reporter: If the police's resolution was indeed unjust, as the hairdressers say, what does Islamic law have to say about this?
 

Mahr Al-Sussi, dean of Islamic law at Gaza Islamic University: Islam forbids men from looking at the 'awra of women. As we all know, hairdressers deal with women's hair, and this is prohibited by Islamic law regardless of the police ban.