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.
India's film industry is among the most prolific in the world with nearly 1,500 films produced annually, most of them in Bollywood, as the Mumbai Hindi film industry is called.
The Cine Costume Makeup Artists and Hair Dressers Association had an unofficial ban on women as makeup artists, though they could work as hairdressers to the stars.
Judge Dipak Misra also struck down a regulation that people had to live in a particular city or town for five years to become a member of the association.
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.
