- Sharjah issued a ban on mannequins with heads in 2008
- It also said mannequins wearing underwear were forbidden
- The ban was largely ignored by clothing stores
- Conservative community members have recently been voicing their complaints
The Sharjah Municipality, in coordination with the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD), is cracking down on outlets to enforce its ban on mannequins with heads.
In 2008, the municipality had issued a circular stipulating that the mannequins should be headless and displayed with decent clothes. The circular was sent to all shops stating that it was forbidden to display mannequins with underwear so as to uphold the traditional and religious values of the emirate.
However, many of them have not been paying heed to it and flouting the directions. Conservative community members in Sharjah have recently been voicing their angst and lodged complaints with the department concerned.
The authorities have intensified inspection targeting outlets (including garment and textile shops) in public streets and in shopping centers to remind them of the ban.
An official at Market Control said that the municipality inspectors are present in the markets of various parts of the city to check violations related to conserving the traditional values or acts that hurt public sentiments and distort the image of Sharjah.
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The inspectors have urged shopkeepers to display mannequins with proper clothing. Those who were found exhibiting mannequins without decent clothes have been instructed to remove them immediately from the shops.
During the campaign, the SEDD urged shopkeepers to follow the regulations and issued a warning to ensure that they display the mannequins with clothes that do not go against traditional values.
An official at SEDD said that it has recently been noticed that many of the garments, lingerie and textiles shops were ignoring the regulation issued in 2008 to implement the decision of Sharjah Executive Council that aimed at keeping intact the cultural and traditional values of the emirate. He added that inspectors had already sounded warning to a number of shops and in case they fail to fall in line, they will be fined and can even be closed down.
The authorities said they had received complaints from residents, who had objected to shops displaying men's and women's undergarments on mannequins. "In wake of these complaints, inspectors have told the erring shops to refrain from violating the directives," the SEDD official added.
Many women shoppers said that some shops in malls and shopping centers are displaying underwear and bras in an embarrassing and offensive way, which is not acceptable. "Any woman who enters a shop with a male relative would feel embarrassed when coming across some mannequins displaying undergarments in an indecent way," a woman shopper said.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
