Lebanese MP Wants to Officially Decriminalize… Shorts

In case you needed a reminder that Lebanon is full of bizarre laws collecting dust in the archives, here’s a gem: back in 1941, under the French Mandate, a decree was issued banning women from wearing shorts and other “revealing” clothes in public.

Can you imagine if this was enforced? They’d have to free up four Roumiehs to lock us all up.

The law went further than just shorts. It also banned two-piece swimsuits and required clothing to cover from the neck/chest down to the legs. Violators faced a fine of 250 Lebanese-Syrian pounds, a defunct colonial currency.

Fast forward 84 years later, and MP Mark Daou has just proposed scrapping that colonial-era decision altogether. Because technically, on paper, Lebanese women are still prohibited from wearing a pair of denim cutoffs. Though some of the ripped shorts on the market can only be described as criminal…

As everyone knows, no one’s enforcing this law. Beirut’s nightlife, beaches, and literally every summer outing prove that women wearing shorts is not exactly a crime in Lebanon. But Daou’s move highlights something important, Lebanon’s legal system is still littered with archaic, irrelevant, and often laughable rules. And despite the fact that the country is drowning in bigger crises (you know…enemy strikes, the economy, electricity, governance, etc.), it doesn’t hurt to clean up the legal code so we’re not pretending it’s still 1941.

Think of it less as a groundbreaking women’s rights revolution and more as spring cleaning. If a law is outdated, unenforced, and makes the state look like it’s policing fashion choices, maybe it’s time to let it go.

MORE LIKE THIS

Lebanese Docufilm “Do You Love Me” Premieres at 2025 Venice Film Festival

Lebanese docufilm “Do You Love Me” by filmmaker Lana Daher is heading for the global stage 🍿 Here are the details.