A decision by the governor of Syria's Latakia province to ban female public sector employees from wearing make-up at work has prompted widespread controversy.
Critics said the move infringes on personal freedom and highlights the blurred lines of authority within state institutions.
The circular, published on Sunday, was short and direct. Addressed to all state and public institutions in Latakia and signed by Governor Mohammed Ahmed Othman, it left no room for doubt: “You are requested to inform all your female employees that they are prohibited from wearing any make-up during official work hours.” Non-compliance is punishable by law, the circular added.
The decision was met with widespread incredulity. On Wednesday, the province’s administration attempted to soften the tone. It acknowledged public discontent over the decision but stopped short of retracting it.
“The emphasis is not on prohibition but rather regulating professional appearance and avoiding excessive use of cosmetics,” a statement circulated by the governorate's media office said. The decision aims to “strike a balance between personal freedom and the requirements of the official work environment”, it added.
The governorate was working to “clarify any ambiguity in the understanding or application” of the decision.
When contacted by The National, the media office declined to clarify what penalties would apply to those who failed to comply, how authorities would verify whether a woman was wearing make-up, or what would constitute “excessive use of cosmetics.”
No ban on make-up exists in other Syrian provinces, raising questions about the Latakia administration’s motivation behind the decree. The province is a core part of the coastal Alawite heartland and is widely regarded as less socially conservative than many other parts of the country.
A teacher from Jableh – an Alawite-majority city in Latakia where some of the worst sectarian violence during last year’s coastal massacres took place – said he initially dismissed the decision as “an absurd rumour started by a forged document”, only to learn it was official when the school administration circulated it to staff.
“It's a clear restriction of personal freedoms. We can see the direction the current is flowing. But you’re not going to see many of us [Alawites] expressing public discontent over the matter,” he said.
He added that although he believed the decision targeted the Alawites, a pervasive fear of the government remained ingrained within the community following the killings last March. “The important thing is that we stay alive and no one kills us.”
Haid Haid, senior fellow at the Arab Reform Initiative, told The National the decision follows a broader pattern of governors and government officials “making decisions at the provincial level without any co-ordination with the central government”, highlighting constitutional flaws in Syria’s murky new legal framework.
“The Latakia governorate’s decision to ban make-up for female employees in public institutions is framed as a neutral workplace regulation,” Mr Haid wrote on X. “However, it raises serious questions about personal freedom, gender equality and state overreach.”
Many Syrians took to social media to express outrage. Snack Syria, a satirical current affairs website, mocked the decision by highlighting numerous shortcomings in the governing of Syria – delayed payment of salaries, irregular rubbish collections, high cost of living and soaring electricity prices.
“After its overwhelming success in solving all service and livelihood problems, the Latakia Governorate issued a decisive decree putting an end to one of the most dangerous phenomena threatening the stability of society and the state: the wearing of make-up,” Snack Syria posted on X.
