Cairo: As part of new dressing rules being worked out for appearance in public places in the Omani capital Muscat, wearers of sleeveless shirts and shorts at shopping centres could face OMR300 in a fine and maximum jailing of three months, an Omani newspaper reported Tuesday.
Related recommendations have been submitted by the Muscat Public Affairs Committee to the governorate’s Municipal Council to be discussed next month, according to Qais bin Mohammed Al Ma’shari, the panel’s head. Later, the council will refer the recommendations to the Royal Court Minister. After their approval, they become a binding law, according to the official.
“Rules of decent dressing have not been worked out in detail, but they [clothes] should cover the body from the shoulder down to below the knee,” he told Omani online newspaper Shabiba.
He added that decent dressing does not include wearing the hijab due to multi-culturalism and religious tolerance in Oman.
“The same rules will be applied to citizens and expatriates alike in the Sultanate. We have to make sure that the worn clothes do not violate decent dressing rules. Therefore, this code will apply to everyone without discrimination,” he explained.
“According to this code, males and females will not be allowed to wear in public shorts or sleeveless shirts uncovering the chest and shoulders.”
Al Ma’shari disclosed that the proposed dressing code has been considered after municipal committees in Muscat and managers of shopping centres received complaints from some members of the public about some people’s failure to observe appropriate dressing in public.
