ASHGABAT (TCA) — Starting from March, women employed by state agencies and organizations in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat have been “recommended” not to use nail polish, not to have nail and lash extensions, not to dye hair and wear gold jewelry items, independent foreign-based news website Chronicles of Turkmenistan reports.
The website reported that officials of Ashgabat khyakimliks’ (municipal administration) offices visit hairdressers and beauty parlors in the capital city and “recommend” excluding nail and lash extensions and hair bleaching from the list of services they provide.
It should be mentioned that these services are very popular with Turkmen women. For instance, lash extensions fee starts from 150 manats ($43 using the official rate or $11 at the black market rate).
It is not the first unofficial restriction imposed on women in Turkmenistan. Earlier this year, the Chronicles of Turkmenistan reported that females who had obtained driving licenses over the past five years were requested to re-sit the driving test.
It was then reported that Turkmenistan’s road police stopped female drivers on the roads and confiscated their driving licenses, informing them that females were now forbidden to drive in Turkmenistan.
No written instructions or decrees were presented by police officers who referred to verbal instructions issued by higher-ranking authorities.
Also, starting from January an unofficial ban on the use of black cars was introduced in Turkmenistan.
