No lipstick on your wedding day (illustration)
Photo: Index Open
Haredi girls paid not to wear makeup
Following rise in use of makeup among female ultra-Orthodox students, seminary offers NIS 1,000 to each girl agreeing not to put on makeup for her wedding
The Darchei Rachel seminary for girls in Jerusalem imposed a new regulation recently: Each girl agreeing not to put on makeup for her wedding will receive a scholarship worth NIS 1,000 (about $265).
Moshe, whose sister studies at Darchei Rachel, says the new plan was initiated by the institution following a rise in the use of makeup among ultra-Orthodox girls. According to Moshe, before their wedding the girls are exempted from the school's strict rules, leading many brides to put on heavy makeup.
The managers of the seminary, which is considered one of the most conservative education institutions in the ultra-Orthodox sector and has about 1,500 students, took notice of the trend and decided to try and change it.
A source in the institution reported of a partial response to the scholarship, adding that not enough girls have gotten married yet in order to thoroughly examine the response.
A haredi education official explains, "This education institution is for the sector's most righteous girls, who are strict about everything. However, I remain skeptical in regards to the initiative's success, in light of the fact that makeup is acceptable in the haredi society and because it's a particularly exciting day."
