Please ‘hair’ me out

‘Out of many, one people’ yet many people are still left out.

As a voice for youth, I hear and watch their various laments, one of which is, “I have to cut my hair, I have to bun my hair, I can’t wear beads in my hair, I can’t be my hair because of school.” Despite the fact that Jamaica was founded on African ideals, we still observe a colonial framework in our institutions, especially in our secondary schools, where there is a grooming policy associated with order and conformity. Are our school administrators taking the baton from our former colonisers?

This is not a call for the removal of school standards and principles, and it is also not to be seen or misinterpreted for school to be a liberty hall. We are simply soliciting a reform that is relevant to freedom in the convention.

“The child shall have the right to freedom of expression - Article 10 UN Convention of child”

Expression in this instance is not limited to media, so it is safe to argue that grooming policies are limitation tools to the freedom of expression of students in secondary schools. Children have the right to wear their hair as they feel fit.

Article 28 states; ‘ Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child’s human dignity’.

Are school administrators promoting, discrimination when Rastas are mandated to cover locs, or when Afros are considered as ungroomed hair? Do we not get the texture of our hair from the race to which we belong? I believe that asking students of African origin to cut their hair or otherwise alter their natural appearance while leaving the Caucasians, Chinese, and Indians alone constitutes racial discrimination.

The sole objective is to educate students to live in the work world, which article 33 (3) endorses: “The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin.”

Does the grooming policy actually facilitate preparing one to live in a society that is liberal?

This topic is impatient to debate, articles have been published for the past six years (including) titled ‘Hair we go again’.

How long will this be left on the table?

Students continue to barred from graduating or attending classes because of their hair, which (invites) the question, is school an incubation for conformity or an institution for education?

We students call on the minister of education to formulate a standardised grooming policy for all schools that accepts and encourages African hairstyles, and speaks to uniformity rather than leaning towards the colonial framework of conformity.