Thailand loosens the rules for student haircuts after 50 years

Thailand loosens the rules for student haircuts after 50 years

Bangkok, Thailand - it was early in the morning when the students drunken - all in uniform school uniforms and with identical, ordinary hairstyles - standing up for the daily meeting at the flag mast of their school in Bangkok.

The eighth grader Baramee Chaovawanich was one of 3,600 students who were present as a teacher through every series step to examine every young person with a monthly review of compliance with the dress code and appearance.

experiences with the dress code

Then a teacher pointed to Chaovawanich, who was nicknamed "Khao Klong", and found that his hair was too long. The boy had to step forward and partially let the hair be shaved out in public, whereby the teacher deliberately left the haircut incomplete, so that he had to run around with this hairstyle for the rest of the day.

"It was a feeling of shame, as if a child was picked out, made a joke and isolated, and then his hair is shaved so that it looks ugly," said Khao Klong, who is now 20 years old and studied at the university. He still remembers how he went back to the class, where "everyone turned to me and broke out in laughter."

"It is a scene that stays in my head and she really made me insecure," he added.

strict rules in Thailand's schools

The punishment may seem extreme, but such scenes have been in Thailand widespread, where pupils are subject to strict rules regarding their appearance, which are far beyond the dressings in other countries go out.

This was how male students had to wear a military short haircut, while female students had to style their hair in short, ear -length bobs - before the rules were relaxed in 2013 (as boys their hair growed up to the base of the neck and girls were able to wear them longer as long as they were tied up).

khao Klong's hair had only a few centimeters above the limit, but even that was not allowed.

a change in the rules

But the regulations for hairstyles change considerably. In March, the state's highest administrative court canceled the instructions of the Ministry of Education from 1975 and declared it unconstitutional.

In the court order, it was said that the rules imposed "excessive restrictions on personal freedom" and thus violated the Thai constitution. It was added that the 50 -year -old regulations "do not in harmony with the contemporary social conditions" and damage the mental health of children in development -relevant age groups, especially among young people with different gender identities.

The judicial judgments were long overdue after nationwide student protests in 2020 pushed the topic in the foreground and the Ministry of Education prompted schools to give the schools the decision about their own rules.

The decision was taken up by some students who have had more freedom in their external appearance for a long time.

students express themselves

"Things have changed, especially in relation to how the hairstyles were checked," said 16-year-old Nijchaya Kraisriwattana in April. Her school in Bangkok used to hold weekly checks to check the appearance of the students, and she had previously lost academic points because her hair was too long.

The rules were so strict that they even stuck their pony and stuck out the protruding baby hair behind the ear - but nowadays the rules seem to be more "relaxed", she said.

But among other things, there is concern that some schools will continue to enforce strict guidelines and hard punishments without government intervention.

"At first I was happy when I read about it, but then people began to analyze it. It seems as if it still had gaps, which is a little worried because it doesn't seem to be much different than before," said Khao Klong. He and other student activists "didn't see much change," he added.

CNN asked the Ministry of Education to comment.

military past and conformist culture

Although it is difficult to understand why the rules were so strict, they reflect the conservative, hierarchical Buddhist society of Thailand - as well as a culture that has emerged from many years of authoritarian rule.

The influence of the powerful military is deeply rooted in Thailand, a constitutional kingdom that has experienced more than a dozen successful state pranks since 1932 - the last took place in 2014. The regulations on the dress code of students were drawn up by a military government during the decades of dictatorship by Thanom Kittikachorn, which was overthrown in 1973 by a violent uprising.

The conservative influence of the military on how students have to appear on school has still existed, explained Thunhavich Thitratsakul, an educational research researcher at Thailand Development Research Institute, which previously wrote about the policy of the dress code.

"It is a social norm that is social value that students have to follow the law, and if they behave well, they become good people," he said.

in Thailand "Students have to listen to their parents and follow the school regulations," he added. "If you get a job in the future and be able to follow the rules ... it means okay, you are a good person, and it tends to cut off well."

Resistance to strict regulations

The court judgment in March recognized this way of thinking and pointed out that the regulations regarding hairstyles “aim to educate students to become responsible citizens and to emphasize the need for close surveillance by parents and teachers to ensure that they adhere to social norms and laws.”

This military way of education also extended to other forms of discipline. Khao Klong remembered that teachers beat him almost "every day" in the middle school because he lacked "discipline", sometimes they used a ruler until he broke. The regulations for school uniforms are also strict and they are similar in all public schools - they even specify the types of socks and shoes that the students have to wear.

When times changed, the students began to resist. But even the relaxation of the rules in 2013 caused controversy, since some parents and teachers argued that the loose regulations would promote disobedience and distraction.

This debate continued, nationwide protests broke out by 2020, in which a group of students decided that they had enough.

The uprising of the "bad students"

The year 2020 was monumental. Throughout the country, tens of thousands of pro-democratic demonstrators went to the streets and demanded reforms of the constitution drawn up by the military and the mighty monarchy. The protests were remarkable because they challenged many years of taboos against the criticism of the royal family - who are punished under Thai law with prison terms.

When the demonstrations stretched over summer and autumn, the students also took measures. Pupils of the middle and high schools promise to revise the dress code and the regulations to hairstyles and to proceed against the abuse of power by teachers and administrators.

The two movements were separated, but the students' protests could have been influenced by the larger pro-democratic demonstrations, said Thunhavich, the researcher. Photos of student protests showed hundreds of young people who used many of the visual signs that were also seen in the Pro Democracy demonstrations, such as the three-finger salam and yellow rubber ducks. "Our first dictation is school," was a popular slogan on the protest signs.

Khao Klong was one of these students. His experience with hair cutting left a "mental scar" that he didn't want to expect any other. Therefore, he joined a coalition of activists named "Bad Students".

"throw off the bitter, outdated uniforms!" was a facebook post from Bad Studets in November 2020, in which the students were asked " want". The following month, the group organized a protest before the Ministry of Education, where students hung their school uniforms on the goals.

The protests were lively and colorful - the students were dressed accordingly. Some stuck black adhesive tapes over their mouths to express their feelings of oppression at school; Others appeared in inflatable dinosaur costumes to make fun of the older, outdated generation of Thai politicians who dictated their uniforms.

In a sign of resistance, some even cut off the hair during the protests. A 19-year-old, Pimchanok Nongnual, shaved the hair in front of the Ministry of Education and a high official, such as reuters then reported.

"What about gender fluids or non-binary students?" Asked her and reflected the many students who appeared in rainbow clothing to demand more diverse uniforms.

"We felt hopeless. At that moment it was the case that when we don't speak, who? If we don't raise our voice, who will speak for us?" said Khao Klong.

The group submitted petitions and complaint to the government - which ultimately led the Ministry of Education to put its regulations on hairstyles in 2023 to ensure that they "do not restrict the physical freedom of the students".

Last year, the ministry also asked schools and teachers to exercise caution when imposing punishments.

a glimmer of hope for student rights

The latest court order seems to seal these victories on paper at least on paper - and by declaring the regulations for hairstyles as "unconstitutional", it could give the students more influence in schools that decide to maintain stricter rules.

nijchaaya, the student in Bangkok, felt the change when she recently came to school without being backed back. "They just let it go through it without saying anything," she said.

When she was asked whether she wanted more freedom in her clothing, she replied vigorously: "Yes, absolutely" and said she would like to wear T-shirts and jeans and wear her hair open.

But Thunhavich said it was too early to celebrate. Schools must now be held accountable and advise with their communities and school board members how to adapt their regulations, he added. But it is unclear whether the students will have a voice.

five years after the protests that shook Thailand, the former front fighters of the students are also tired. Many have continued their training and juggling with the requirements of school tasks, jobs and everyday life. The topic of student rights has disappeared from the headlines, although obstacles continue to exist.

Nevertheless, Khao Klong said: "With this court decision, I hope that we can talk about rights and freedoms again in any school, about questions of oppression or authoritarianism."

"Just because we didn't talk about it does not mean that it has disappeared; we just forgot to speak to it," he added. "We feel that the desire may have decreased, but everyone still remembers the feeling of being threatened when we occurred for our own rights."