Beauty shops in Aceh banned from sinning
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As part of the Islamic syariah law being implemented in the restive province of Aceh, beauty salons, barber shops and hotel businessmen must ban their workers and customers from wearing non-Islamic dress.
"Beauty salon workers must not wear sexually arousing clothes, which does not reflect the Islamic law," Sr. Comr. Andi Suryadi, a spokesman for the Aceh provincial police, was quoted by Antara as saying.
He said that the owners of beauty shops are obliged to provide separate services for female and male customers.
"We hope all sides will not open a chance for others to commit an act that could lead to a sinful deed, which clearly contravenes the Islamic teaching," Andi said, quoting Aceh Police Chief Insp. Gen. Yusuf Manggabarani.
The ban is part of the Islamic law that went into effect in the rebellious province on Jan. 1 this year.
Andi said the authorities asked all Acehnese, including beauty salons, barber shops and hotel managers, to play an active role in enforcing the law.
"They must also be responsible and active in supervising the law enforcement," he said. "Should they find violations of Islamic syariah, they must immediately report them to the police."
"Hotels, beauty salons and barber shops are asked to help the local authorities build the moral character of people, so the Islamic law can be implemented totally in Aceh," Andi said.
He said the police will deal firmly with those breaching the syariah law.
Andi was speaking during a meeting with dozens of businesspeople dealing with beauty and barber shops and hotels in Banda Aceh.
The implementation of syariah is part of the autonomy arrangement offered by Jakarta to appease separatists in the province.
After talks with the government in Switzerland on Feb. 2 and 3, the Free Aceh Movement, which has been waging a sporadic guerrilla war for independence since 1976, agreed to accept autonomy as a basis for negotiations but denied it was dropping its demand for independence.
Aceh was renamed Nangroe Aceh Darussalam when the autonomy law came into effect in the province.