Muscat – To protect Omani dresses against distortion and to preserve the Omani identity, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotions (MoCIIP) has called on the owners of shops selling and stitching men’s and women’s dresses not to distort traditional Omani dresses and headdresses such as kummah (Omani cap) and musar (turban), in any way contrary to the public interest.

The ministry stated that with advent of Ramadan, there is a lot of demand for buying traditional dresses or getting them stitched in preparation for the festival of Eid al Fitr.

On Monday, the ministry through a statement, alerted that the traditional men’s dress (dishdasha) and women’s abayas must not be distorted ‘either by sewing or printing slogans and trademarks of foreign clubs or by making drawings contrary to the public interest, or by merging designs of musar and the Omani cap or other traditional dresses’.

The Directorate of Commercial Affairs and Electronic Commerce at MoCIIP emphasised that the Omani dress is an important symbol of the Omani heritage.

The ministry continuously warns all commercial institutions and companies through its announcements against any tampering of traditional Omani clothes and costumes. In January, H E Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, had issued Ministerial Decision No 209/ 2021 related to the Omani standard for the dishdasha.

The decision confirmed that the Omani standard specification No 1639/2021 OS is a binding specification for Omani dishdasha.

The decision stipulated an administrative fine not exceeding RO1,000 for anyone who violates the provisions of the decision, and the fine can be doubled in the event of a repete of the violation.