Lebanese mayor orders female police to wear short shorts to attract more tourists

A town in Lebanon is seeking to increase tourism by dressing its female police officers in black short shorts.

Pierre Achkar, the mayor of Brummana, located east of Beirut, is said to have employed the uniform policy as a means of attracting more Western tourists.

Speaking to RT, Achkar said: “We in Lebanon want to change the bleak picture of Lebanon in the West.

“Ninety-nine percent of the tourists in the Mediterranean region wear shorts,” he added.

Understandably, the move has come under fire with some calling out the mayor for his “sexually exploitative” uniform policy.

Some Twitter users pointed out the stark contrast in the male uniform, which involves full trousers, saying the women are being treated like “touristic attractions”.

Another wrote: “Even women police officers in the West are smartly dressed, what’s the need to expose your women.”

A fourth said: “It’s a great initiative to engage more women in municipalities. The only problem is that they’re clearly not in standard police uniforms but are being exploited (and) sexualised by their employers.”

Despite the backlash, police officer Samata Saad, told RT she is enjoying the work.

“We came willingly to this work and we have accepted it with enthusiasm and we still hope that it will return in every summer season,” she said.

What do you think about the policy?

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