--- description: India's Supreme Court ruled this week that women can be make-up artists, rather than just hairdressers, finding an old ban unconstitutional title: India's High Court Says Women Can Be Make-Up Artists image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f904786d36dcdc9/698764093c16399f3d44f6bb/156504394.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Women Can Be Make-Up Artists, Too, Says India's High Court  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 4, 2014 6:06 PM CUT  Actress Gauri Singh is reflected in a mirror as she adjusts her makeup during filming on the set of the Punjabi film 'Bolo Tara Rara' in Amritsar on November 16, 2012. Actress Gauri Singh is reflected in a mirror as she adjusts her makeup during filming on the set of the Punjabi film 'Bolo Tara Rara' in Amritsar on November 16, 2012.Narinder Nanu—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 4, 2014 6:06 PM CUT India’s decades-old restriction on female make-up artists in its bustling film industry received [fierce criticism](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sc-says-women-can-be-make-up-artists/ "undefined") from the country’s high court on Monday, with justices ruling that the profession can’t be limited to men. The ruling against the 59-year-old practice was first reported by the newspaper _Indian Express_, which cited Justice Dipak Misra as arguing that depriving qualified job candidates of work was a violation of their constitutional rights. “How can this discrimination continue?” he was quoted with Justice U U Lalit. “We will not permit this.” The justices reserved especially sharp words for the Cine Costume Make-up Artists and Hair Dressers Association, a trade union that explicitly endorsed the ban on the basis that men had a more urgent need for the work. “You better delete this clause on your own,” the court warned union leaders. “We are in 2014, not in 1935.” \[[_Indian Express_](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sc-says-women-can-be-make-up-artists/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3556581/india-make-up-film-industry-court/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3556581/india-make-up-film-industry-court/"},"headline":"Women Can Be Make-Up Artists, Too, Says India's High Court","datePublished":"2014-11-04T18:06:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:12:52.469Z","description":"\"We are in 2014, not in 1935,\" the justices wrote","url":"https://time.com/3556581/india-make-up-film-industry-court/","keywords":["gender","women's rights","movies","India","entertainment","Bollywood"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f904786d36dcdc9/698764093c16399f3d44f6bb/156504394.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f904786d36dcdc9/698764093c16399f3d44f6bb/156504394.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"INDIA-ARTS-CINEMA-BOLLYWOOD","caption":"INDIA-ARTS-CINEMA-BOLLYWOOD","creditText":"Narinder Nanu—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3556581/india-make-up-film-industry-court/","name":"Women Can Be Make-Up Artists, Too, Says India's High Court"}}]}] ```