After years of wrangling with authorities, college students in Thailand can now let their hair down. Actually.
On Wednesday, Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court docket annulled a 50-year-old directive by the training ministry, which had beforehand set out guidelines on hairstyles for college college students: quick hair for boys and ear-length bobs for ladies.
In apply, coiffure guidelines have been progressively relaxed throughout many faculties. However some nonetheless used the 1975 junta-issued directive as a suggestion, and would lower the hair of scholars who did not adhere.
The 1975 directive violated particular person freedoms protected by the structure and was out of contact with at the moment’s society, the courtroom mentioned.
The courtroom choice this week got here in response to a petition, filed by 23 public faculty college students in 2020, which argued that the 1975 directive was unconstitutional.
Scholar activists have lengthy campaigned for coiffure guidelines to be relaxed, saying it infringes on their human dignity and private freedom over their our bodies.
One in all them is Panthin Adulthananusak, who just lately graduated from college.
“Within the eyes of youngsters like us again then… despite the fact that it appeared not possible, we needed to do one thing,” he instructed the BBC. “If no scholar in Thai historical past rose as much as problem the ability of the adults that suppressed us, it will be a lifelong embarrassment.”
In response to such campaigns, the training ministry in 2020 allowed college students to have longer hairstyles – however there remained some restrictions. Boys’ hair couldn’t cowl the nape of their necks, whereas women with lengthy hair needed to tie it up.
These rules had been revoked in 2023, with then training minister Trinuch Thienthong asserting that college students, dad and mom and faculty authorities ought to negotiate their very own frequent floor on what is suitable for hairstyles of their faculties.
However by means of all these adjustments, some faculties continued to observe the usual specified by the unique 1975 directive.
Faculties have historically related quick hair with self-discipline and tidiness – an argument that has been repeated by many social media customers this week. However in recent times stories of colleges banning bangs or dyed hair have sparked public outcry throughout Thailand.
In some elements of the nation, academics are identified to shoddily lower college students’ hair throughout morning meeting to punish them for flouting coiffure guidelines. Such practices have continued at the same time as training authorities warned academics in opposition to it.
In January, the Ministry of Training reiterated that it had repealed restrictions on hair size for all college students, saying it recognised the “significance of selling range and equity in all elements of training”.
Wednesday’s courtroom choice, which additionally says that faculties’ coiffure guidelines ought to think about the liberty and dignity of scholars, reaffirms the official push to go away hair selections as much as college students themselves.
However Panthin mentioned the revoking of the decades-old directive “nonetheless leaves a gap for faculties to set their very own guidelines”. In instances the place faculties have extra conservative administration, he instructed, restrictions might stay in place.
Nonetheless, Panthin mentioned he “felt glad that what I had seen and fought all alongside was acknowledged and there was a tangible progress”.
“I hope this courtroom’s ruling will set a brand new commonplace for the understanding about fundamental human rights on the faculty.”
