5 countries with extremely strict dress codes

All the worlds a fashioncriticespecially if youre a woman. From caliphates to communist republics and even in the democratic West, strict laws have governedwhat people wear. Its a moral warwaged on our wardrobes, and it still ragestoday.TakeGambia, newly declared an Islamic republic, wherefemale government workers have just beenurgedto use head ties and neatly wrap their hair. Thesehaplesscivil servants may have beenurged, but forcitizens of some countries, straying from the prescribed dress code is altogether more serious, carryinga prison sentence, fine oreven public flogging.So, inthe spirit of sartorial solidarity, wetake a look at five nations where personal style andpolitical style areone and the same.North Korea: long hair for men, trousers for womenLets trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyleso ran the title of a five-part series on North Korean state TV, exhorting citizens to choose one of several officially sanctioned haircuts. Hair should be kept 1-5cm in length and be trimmed every 15 days.Meanwhile, women caught wearing trousers can be punished with forced labour and fines, although these rules are beginning to relax a little, according to reports.Sudan: trousers for women, make-up for menNorth Korea is not the only country where men wear the trousers: in Sudan in 2014, there was outrage as nine women faced 40 lashes for the crime of wearing western-style slacks.Harsh interpretations of sharia law mean thousands of Sudanese women are arrested each year for public order offences such as wearing short skirts and dancing with men. The offences arent entirely gender specific: in 2010 seven men, models at a fashion show, were convicted of indecency and fined for wearing make-up.Saudi Arabia: bare skin for women, cross-dressing for menIt doesnt matter whether youre local or foreignif youre a woman and youre in Saudi Arabia, flashing an inch of flesh is a criminal act. Muslim women are required to wear a niqab and long black cloak called an abaya, while foreign women can get away with a long coat and bare head, if they dare.But clothing restrictions dont only apply to women: in 2009, the Saudi government arrested 67 men at a private party in Riyadh. The offence: cross-dressing and behaving like women.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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