The year is 2022 and Barbadian children are still being told that locations or location extensions are not acceptable or suitable for school.
However, to the north of Barbados, 672 miles away in the same Caribbean Sea, lies Anguilla, a country that has taken the decision to change its National Discipline and Dress Code, “to reflect changing attitudes to hair globally and within our community. This change will go beyond most Caribbean territories, which still require permission to wear clothes to school.” This is according to Anguilla’s Minister of Education, Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers on April 13, 2022.
On Instagram, Kentish-Rogers wrote:
“When I was elected for the first time, a young man turned to me and asked me, how is it possible that the head of the Ministry of Education wears a cow, while the students in the system do not? The truth is, kids are watching. They’ve always been watching and now they’re finding their voices to express what they believe.”
In neighboring Antigua, after a Rastafarian child was discriminated against because of his hair, in early September 2022, just a few weeks ago, the Ministry of Education in Antigua and Barbuda is now working on a draft policy on hairstyles for schools. But until now, the ministry has made it clear to schools that rules related to hair must be made within the framework provided by the following guidelines:
1. The rules must not discriminate against students based on the natural texture, length or color of their hair.
2. Hair must be:
a. Clean, meaning free of foul odors and/or infestations.
b. Presented neat, orderly and neat.
3. Hair should not:
a. Present a health and/or safety risk to yourself or others.
b. Be a distraction to the general school population.
In Jamaica, placements are available for religious and medical reasons. In 2018, a five-year-old girl was denied an education at a Kingston school because of her gender. Two years later, in 2020, the Jamaican Supreme Court finally ruled that the principal and the school at the time did not violate the child’s rights and upheld the decision to ban him from the school citing hygiene as a reason and cause for concern. However, Rastafarians could wear clothes to school, but not students who would be stylish athletes for fashion or personal reasons.
At the time, August 2020, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jamaica reported Prime Minister Andrew Holness as saying: “This government does not believe there should be any law that can be interpreted to deny access to a citizen simply on the basis of their hairstyle. We, as a rights-sensitive government, have always said that our children should not be discriminated against, nor deprived of their right to education because of socio-economic issues – such as inability to afford school fees , or socio-cultural issues such as hairstyle.”
However, today, September 21, a Bajan mother is still confused as to why a teacher verbally told her daughter at an urban secondary school in Barbados that she could not wear her hair to school after seeing her on the day first of this new semester September. 19. He told her that she should take them out the next day at school.
In a country where the former Minister of Education, now Deputy Prime Minister was first appointed while having a hairstyle, a former DLP senator has worn her hair with hair, the Speaker of the House for the last term and the current term, who is also a senior member of the legal fraternity has locations, a former Consul General of Barbados in New York also had locations, and finally, Barbados’ only gold medalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games has locations, this decree from the teacher for the student, the mother is confused.
Speaking of Cycle news, she said her daughter has been wearing the same style since June 2022 when classes went back to face-to-face. Her teacher has not changed with the new school year, however this rule is already being brought to the fore. Her daughter’s hair has local extensions. Handcrafted premises act as a semi-permanent to permanent solution to help a person start the journey to the country, avoiding the unclear and messy phase that can occur with closing. The mother said she asked the teacher on the second day of term to explain the rule and his verbal response was that children cannot wear extensions, weaves etc and warned other teachers to tell her daughter about the hair.
Extensions Loc
Photo Caption: Handmade loc plugins are being installed
The mother, who refuses to cut her daughter’s hair, shared photos of her hair on social media without any expectations, but to her surprise, she has since received hundreds of messages from Bajans on the matter.
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Among the overwhelming number of responses on social networks in less than 24 hours are people who say that their hair is “neat”, “beautiful”, “sweet” and “neat”.
Livid, about this situation in Barbados 2022, a quote from one person tweeted: “Why can white guys in Barbados grow their hair to their shoulders but black guys have to cut it?” This got about 126 likes.
And many took issue with the fact that hairdos and such patterns are abhorrent, except in February which marks Black History Month/African Awareness Month. One tweeted: “What’s worrying is that February rolls around and they have ‘hair contests’ and African awareness and all the talk about embracing your roots… Then go back and embrace the archaic colonial hair rules right back after.”
Mom asked her if her answer was too dramatic. “Am I tripping?” To which one tweeted: “It’s so sad how colonialism continues to affect us as a country because how do you mean a black girl can’t wear clothes to school in 2022?!? I hope you go to the ministry!”.
Many called for teachers and schools to adapt to the times and understand the culture.
“My friend has two girls with hair and they wear this hairstyle a lot…so it could be the style and they need to learn that loc extensions are semi-permanent and shouldn’t be taken off like braids are braids.”
“I swear the secondary schools will be hampered. We don’t live in the 1700s. Deal with it. Like there’s nothing wrong with her hairstyle.”
Some questioned the elaborate take-up style, but the mother responded that the problem was the expansion of the locations, saying that the teacher had no problem with the current arrangement of the locations. Although for these reasons, she would have accepted it and styled it differently, she admitted. “But that’s not the point!”
Editor’s note: The student, the mother, the teacher, nor the school have been named in an attempt to avoid targeting the student. Also, please note that loc extensions and faux locs like boho locs, butterfly locs and crochet locs are not the same.
