A mother who was shocked after her daughter’s Catholic school rejected her request to wear trousers started a petition to overturn the ruling – and she won!
Mum Simone Cariss told Kidspot: “The Principal called me today and said she hadn’t responded very well in the first place and that they would form a committee to discuss the changes and then roll them out.”
“I haven’t told Asha yet because she’s at school but she’s going to be rapt,” she continued.
Earlier, she was shocked to learn that her six-year-old daughter Asha wasn’t allowed to wear trousers and shorts in winter. All she wanted was to be warm and play sport with her male school friends.
The Melbourne school was adamant Asha had to stick to the girl dress code which is a dress in summer and a tunic and tights in winter.
Furious at the decision, Mrs Cariss launched a petition for the local government to make a change, urging people against the ‘antiquated and sexist’ policy.
It was an obviously winning formula for her as the school changed their decision!
In the petition – which currently has over 3,000 signatures – Mrs Cariss said: “My daughter simply wants the right to wear pants or shorts at school – not just on sports days but everyday.”
“It’s 2016 after all and she is still forced to wear a dress (which is very different from choosing to wear a dress).”
“It’s antiquated, sexist and in my view discriminatory.”
She continued: “My daughter, like many other girls, simply wants the choice to wear pants like half of her peers, with the warmth and freedom to be active at school and travelling to/from school.”
“She constantly asks “why can’t I wear pants like the boys?” “Because you’re a girl” is not something I am prepared to say to my 6 year old daughter.”
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education and Training told The Age said schools have the power to implement their own dress codes.
But a report on uniforms by the Victorian Government says: “The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development recognises gender differences in dress codes and school uniform policies as an area of risk with respect to discrimination.”
“In general, where options are to be available, they should be available to both boys and girls.”
To keep the topic ‘broad’, Mrs Cariss has not named the school.
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