I been toying with the idea of writing a fairly regular column highlighting some of the peculiarities of life in Armenia, with a focus on the people in decision-making positions, both in and out of the government, and the policies they enact. This is a work in progress so please bear with me. Here’s an example of one such peculiarity:

We read in the Yerevan Municipality website that: The Municipality of Yerevan plans to open the season of tourist route of "Yerevan City Tour" on May 1st of this year. The Municipality hires young good-looking women and men with excellent knowledge of Armenian, English, Russian aged up to 30 to work as a tour operator.

“Young good-looking men and women...” When did the Municipality launch such a discriminatory employment drive? Why would they even openly state such standards knowing that such restrictions are taboo in much of the “democratic” world? Maybe the Municipality isn’t aware that such standards exist.

Who will be judging what “good-looking” means? And what’s up with the 30 year age limit?

Does the Municipality believe that 35 year-old are over the hill?

It would appear that the Municipality is no different from most private establishments in Yerevan when it comes to hiring. Many retail shops and business publicly state that they are looking for pretty females of a certain age, etc. In fact, reply to most help wanted ads and the first question asked is how old one is.

That would be the basis of an age discrimination suit in many countries.

Now, there’s no question that Yerevan could use some qualified and professional tour guides that are quick to lend a helping hand and an understanding smile to tourists and foreign visitors to Armenia.

But who says such services cannot be provided by average looking people over 30?