School policy ‘racist’
Hairstyles rules seen as discrimination, writes Josephine Franks.
A school-uniform policy banning Afros and braids has been slammed as racist and discriminatory.
Eight New Zealand schools share the policy, including Auckland Grammar, Macleans College and Hastings Boys’ High School. However, Hastings Boys’ principal Robert Sturch said the policy wasn’t discriminatory. If a prospective student decided to go elsewhere because they thought it was, ‘‘that’s their decision’’.
One prospective student had gone to another school because his dreadlocks ‘‘did not meet the standards of the school’’, Sturch said, but the rule about Afros had never been a problem.
However, Camille Nakhid, a social sciences associate professor at the Auckland University of Technology, said the policy was an example of ‘‘institutional racism’’.
‘‘It excludes anyone who doesn’t fit a Eurocentric or European model.’’
Christina Chan of the African Communities Forum Inc called it ‘‘immoral and discriminatory’’.
‘‘It is like criminalising a child that has no control over how his hair looks,’’ she said.
Children of African heritage already grew up surrounded by European beauty ideals and shaming their natural hair could damage self-esteem.
Seven-year-old Maimai Mvundura has always worn her hair in braids or an Afro.
She’s the only African child at her Auckland school. Before she started, her mother Taffy Muyambo approached the teachers about her hair.
They had been ‘‘absolutely amazing’’, Muyambo said. Although the school has strict rules about hair accessories and length, they had been willing to learn about what made things easier for Maimai.
Increased cultural diversity helped, she said. New Zealand has a growing African population: in the 2013 census, 13,464 people of African ethnicity were counted, up 26 per cent from
2006.
Panashe Chakanyuka, 17, has also had a positive reaction to her braids – but she would move school if they weren’t allowed.
Auckland Grammar principal Tim O’Connor said the rules were linked to the school’s ‘‘high standards’’, but he did not answer questions specific to Afros and braids. ‘‘Any requests related to a young man’s religion or culture are addressed on a case-by-case basis,’’ he said.
However, Nakhid said the onus should be on schools to have an inclusive policy.
‘‘It’s a matter of power for a principal to say ‘come and talk to me’.
‘‘Why should the student have to talk to you? The student should know inherently that this is a safe place . . . to wear my hair in an Afro or braids.’’
The headmaster of Westlake Boys’ High School, David Ferguson, said ‘‘on reflection’’ the reference to Afros was outdated, and would be removed. The principals of Timaru Christian School and Auckland’s Rosmini College also said they would consider reviewing their policies. Other colleges with similar policies – Sacred Heart and Macleans in Auckland, and St John’s in Hamilton – did not respond to requests for comment.
Education Ministry deputy secretary Katrina Casey said school rules could not breach the Human Rights Act.
A spokesperson for the Human Rights Commission said that hairstyle was not one of the prohibited grounds for CHRIS McKEEN/STUFF discrimination under the Human Rights Act.
However, if schools restricted students from wearing their hair in a way that connected to their cultural, ethnic or religious identity, it could be grounds for discrimination.
‘It excludes anyone who doesn’t fit a Eurocentric or European model.’ CAMILLE NAKHID, ABOVE