India Supreme Court wipes away Bollywood's ban on female makeup artists

India's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the lifting of a ban on women working as makeup artists in the movie industry, ending a decades-long discriminatory practice.

The Cine Costume Makeup Artists and Hair Dressers Association (CCMAA) had an unofficial ban on women as makeup artists, though they could work as hairdressers to the stars. The association said it was only trying to ensure that male makeup artists were not deprived of work in the film industry.

In telling the association to remove the gender clause, Judge Dipak Misra said: "We are in 2014, not in 1935. Such things cannot continue even for a day."

The court order came on a petition by makeup artist Charu Khurana, whose case was supported by the National Commission for Women, a state organization that protects women's rights. 

Khurana trained at the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles but said she found it impossible to get work as a makeup artist in Bollywood. When film producers wanted to hire her, the CCMAA objected, saying she could not flout the nearly 6-decade-old tradition.

"I wanted to fight back. I wanted to earn a livelihood in the field that I have been trained," Khurana said. "The film fraternity knew about this unconstitutional practice for so many years, but no one resisted it."

Film stars welcomed the ruling, saying male makeup artists should not feel threatened with the court's order. "If makeup artists are good at their job, they will be hired, no matter whether they are male or female," actress Sonam Kapoor said.

The Associated Press