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Pretoria high school given ultimatum to lift ‘racist’ hair rules

Published

8 years ago

August 31, 2016

Authorities in South Africa have issued an ultimatum to a Pretoria High School for girls to suspend and reassess its rules on how black girls wear their hair.

Agitations began when black pupils in the school were allegedly called monkey by their teachers for wearing banned “afros” and also forced to straighten their hair using chemical means.

The ban on black afro hairdo triggered an uprising among black students and also sparked public dispute over racism as the school has been handed a 21-day ultimatum by authorities to reassess its rules.

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“Learners feel that they are not allowed to wear Black hairstyles, such as Afro. Specifically, the school policy limits the length of the hairstyle,” the education ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that the school’s “code of conduct … must be reviewed and the clause dealing with hairstyles should be suspended in the meantime”.

“Some educators tell them [the pupils] they look like monkeys, or have nests on their heads.”

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