Tiisetso Phetla former pupil at the school says, she experienced this #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh pic.twitter.com/QsTlSf9rTw
— African Child (@ZikhonaTshona) August 29, 2016
I have been following the Slacktivists on Twitter becoming more and more outraged over Black Girls apparently not being allowed Afro hairstyles at the Pretoria High School for Girls.
The PHSG Code of Conduct can be found online HERE.
The relevant section dealing with hair will appear further down.
But first – Have a look at this man’s reaction to an untidy afro on a schoolgirl:
In the movie, The Princess Diaries, Mia Thermopolis (played by Ann Hathaway) has just found out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia.
Now this made me think back to my youth and fascination with exotic women from Greece and of Jewish persuasion – they all had wild Afro / JewFro type hair and, by the narrow racist definition, were not black.
So, I ask with tears in my eyes how can a school insisting on certain rules be saddled with the #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh hashtag by slacktivists whose only thought is to jump on the bandwagon of a hurtful nation destroying itself from the inside?
The Code of Conduct of the Pretoria Girls high School states:
All hair must be brushed. If hair is long enough to be tied back, it must be tied back neatly in a ponytail, no lower than the nape of the neck, with a navy blue elastic. Ponytails may not be visible from the front. No crocodile, banana or other fancy clips are allowed. All hair must be off the face and not in the eyes. Hair buns must be tight with no loose hair and have to be worn in the neck , and not on top of the head. the hair may not cover the elastic.
No dyeing, bleaching, highlighting, colouring, colour washing, colour rinsing, relaxing of hair causing a change in colour or shaving of hair in any way is allowed.
Cornrows, natural dreadlocks and singles/braids (with or without extensions) are allowed, provided they are a maximum of 10mm in diameter. Singles/Braids must be the same length and be the natural colour of the girl’s hair. Braids shorter than collar length must be kept off the face with a plain navy or tortoise shell Alice band. Longer braids must be tied back. No beads or decorations in the hair. Cornrows must run parallel from each other from the forehead to the nape of the neck. No patterned cornrows.
All styles should be conservative, neat and in keeping with a school uniform. No eccentric/fashion styles will be allowed.
All hair elastic ribbons must be navy blue. Alic bands or slides may be tortoiseshell or navy blue. No hair ornaments of any kind are permitted. No fashion items may be worn. No crocheted hairbands are allowed. Hair bands, which may have a maximum width of 5cm may not be worn to cover any part of the ears.
