04 April, 2016
France's national airline will allow female staff to volunteer for a new route to Iran rather than require them.
Air France announced that female flight attendants must wear a headscarf, also known as hijab, on arrival in Iran.
Some flight attendants objected.
The union representing crew members said they worried that females would face discipline if they refused to work the flight.
The airline now says female participation on the route to Iran will be on a volunteer basis.
The airline begins three flights a week between Paris and Tehran on April 17.
The headscarf issue puts the two cultures in conflict. Women in Iran have been required to wear hijab since a revolution in 1979. In France, religious headscarves are not allowed in some schools and offices. It is also against the law to wear the full-faced veil in public in France.
I'm Kathleen Struck.
VOANews.com reported on this story. Jim Dresbach adapted the report for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.
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Words in This Story
headscarf – n. a piece of cloth worn over a woman's or girl's head
hijab – n. a head covering worn in public by some women