Ref: 5/2011

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)
condemns the General Investigations Service’s (GIS) illegal and unjustified
intervention into the work of women’s hairdressing salons run by male
hairdressers. The relevant decision was taken by Fathi Hammad, the Interior
Minister in Gaza. PCHR notes that this intervention restricts public freedoms
guaranteed by the law. The Centre has concerns that this intervention
constitutes part of the government’s actions aiming to impose the ruling
party’s agenda on Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip in violation of the
law.

According to PCHR investigations, at
approximately 10:00 am on Saturday, 19 February 2011, five owners of women’s
hairdressing salons were summoned with immediate effect to the GIS headquarters
in al-Abbas police station in western Gaza city. Four of the owners of
hairdressing salons; Nael Bakir al-Rayes, Adnan Adel Barakat, Ramzi Mohammed
Keshta and Hatem Madhat al-Ghoul, headed to the GIS headquarters. A fifth,
Mohammed Mahmoud al-Beltagi did not go to the GIS headquarters for health
reasons. The GIS officer met each of the hairdressers separately and informed
them of the decision of the Ministry of Interior which would prevent them from
practicing their profession as women’s hairdressers and from being present in
their hairdressing salons. They were forced to sign a pledge of five terms
preventing them from being present in their hairdressing salons, from working
as hairdressers, and requiring them to abide by the law and traditions. One of
the terms stated that anyone who breaches the terms of the pledge would be
fined 20,000 NIS. If they refrained from signing the pledge, the GIS threatened
the men with detention and a referral to the Prosecutor General on the grounds
of failure to comply with police orders.

Earlier, the Palestinian police in Gaza had
published on its website a decision dated on 03 March 2010. This decision
states: “The Palestinian police decided to prevent men from working as
women’s hairdressers in accordance with the instructions of the Minister of
Interior and National Security, Mr. Fathi Hammad.”

It should be noted that the five owners of the
hairdressing salons mentioned above are the only men who work as women’s
hairdressers in the Gaza Strip. Some of them have been working as hairdressers
for 30 years and the salons are their only source of income. According to PCHR
investigations, Nael al-Rayes has been summoned three times to appear before
the GIS in Ansar Military Compound and in al-Abbas police station since the end
of 2009. Each time, he was forced to sign similar pledges under threat of
punishment.

It should also be noted that the Ministry of
Interior took similar measures against tourist establishments in Gaza. During
September 2009, the Ministry of Interior closed some of these establishments
and imposed restrictions on other locations. Further, the Ministry forced the
owners of such institutions to sign pledges that they would pay fines in case
of allowing the mixing of genders and incompliance with Islamic customs.[1]

PCHR condemns the unjustified and illegal
intervention into public freedoms and the attempt to impose a factious social
agenda on Palestinian society and:

1. Stresses that the relationship between the
   government and the people is governed by the rule of law and laws
   applicable in territories under the rule of PNA, which specify punishment
   for every violation or offense. The measures taken by the Ministry of
   Interior are in violation of the applicable laws the enforcement of which
   is guaranteed by the Constitution.
2. Is concerned over the use of loose terms
   such as “customs” and “traditions” with the aim to
   intervene into and restrict the public freedoms in violation of the law.
3. Demands that the government abide by the
   rule of law when issuing decisions, and to explicitly distinguish its
   position from the attempts to impose the ruling party’s social agenda on
   Palestinian society.