Bans on heads on mannequins and salesmen of ladies undergarments

Sharjah is cracking the whip on ladies garment shops.

Mannequins in Sharjah shops should be headless and only model “decent” clothing, a Sharjah Municipality circular has stated.

Gulf News interviewed Khalid Al Jaberi, head of market control at Sharjah Municipality:

“We reinforced the ban because it was a religious issue that raised many complaints from residents, who were against shops displaying men and women’s undergarments on realistic mannequins,” said Al Jaberi.

He said no fines had been imposed on shops because everyone had adhered to the circular.

Sharjah Municipality originally implemented the ban five years ago following a fatwa issued by the Islamic Affairs Department.

However, the ban has been reinforced because several outlets had stopped abiding by the rule. [seems to contradict earlier paragraph]

The municipality has always been keen on conserving the traditional Islamic values of Sharjah and has already implemented several rules, including the ban on men selling women’s undergarments in shops.

When I first arrived in Sharjah in the Spring of 2002 I visited the Sharjah Art Museum -- I highly recommend it. It had an exhibit of modern art. I was struck most by the mannequin in an abaya with red finger nails and red handcuffs on her wrists. Without thinking about rules I pulled out my camera and out of nowhere stepped a guard who sterning indicated no photos allowed.

Here's my post on the ban of men showing ladies undergarments from March 2007.