Thai activists want the hairstyle to be of free choice / Web
bangkok
A group of students in Thailand have expressed concern about the decision by the country’s Education Minister, Treenuch Thienthong, to leave guidelines on the haircuts that students must wear up to schools.
The ministry removed the rule from its portfolio that dictated student hairstyles in the middle of this month, but the decision has been criticized rather than praised by many students as, in practice, each school will be able to impose its own hairstyling regulations. .
In practice, each school may impose its own hairdressing regulations
The minister “has let hell break loose on the heads of children,” said the influential Bad Students activist group, which advocates reforms to end strict rules and punishments in the education sector, among them those that govern the haircut of the students.
The Ministry of Education’s regulation on student hairstyles had been in force since May 2020 and determined that girls should have short cuts or long hair properly tied up and boys should have close haircuts with shaved sides.
Also, students were prohibited from dyeing their hair or getting a perm, as well as from having beards or mustaches.
In a message posted this week on their Twitter account, the group pointed out that, instead of giving space to “free hairstyles”, the minister’s decision serves as a basis for schools to “manipulate the hairstyle of the heads of Thai students even more violently.”
“We should not be happy with the elimination of the hairstyle rule. Because what Treenuch is doing is not (a regulation of) ‘free hairstyle’ but of ‘hairstyle in limbo’”, she emphasized.
“BAD BOYS”
Bad Students is one of the main voices in favor of student rights and, among its demands, calls for the revocation of anachronistic rules in schools, effective measures to combat bullying and the end of punishment in educational centers in Thailand.
The group also played an important role in the wave of pro-democracy protests led by university groups in 2020, which demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, the drafting of a new constitution and reform aimed at reducing power. of the monarchy.
These massive protests have opened a public debate in society about the role of the powerful Thai monarchy, whose popularity has plummeted in recent years and where women have no voice, nor in the army. In addition, their political representation is minimal.
However, due to these massive demonstrations and demands, nearly 200 people, including several minors, were charged in court with crimes of lese majesty, according to data from NGOs that defend human rights.
