Plaiting hair every day morning before going to school is routine for many girls across India. But a class 12 student from Cheemeni in Kerala’s Kasargod hated it and sent a strong petition arguing her case for doing away with the rule that girl students had to plait their hair.
Acting on the student’s complaint, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Sunday issued a directive stating that schools in the state should not mandate girl students to part and plait their hair.
Here are five reasons the girl listed that seems to have convinced the Commission:
1. Plaiting wet hair caused bad odour along with other problems like lice-infestation and scalp problems.
2. The complainant added that apart from plaiting being a time-consuming method, girls even had to take their parent's help to tie their hair every morning.
3. She also complained that hair splits on a daily basis when it is plaited.
4. It is forcing children to skip having showers in the morning and this was causing hygiene issues and health problems.
5. The complainant also said the rule enforced gender discrimination.
The commission also took into account the students’ point of view that it is a loss of time. It is difficult for parents to spend time tying their hair.
The commission finally decided that the rule that affected children emotionally, mentally and health-wise should be done away with.