Thailand’s students have to comply with strict regulations regarding hairstyle. Male students must their hair cut evenly short and female students must have it cut evenly up to the earlobes. These rules have been criticised as pedantic and unnecessary and stunned a Taiwanese high schooler, as the regulations have been loosened in Taiwan since 2005.
One high school student in Taiwan told Thai PBS World that the school authority is no longer allowed to punish students for infringements of hair and uniform regulations and students have the right to decide how they look and what they wear. ‘’I have dyed and permed my hair, so my hair is brown and curly. When I go to school, I usually tie my hair in braids or a ponytail. It is a chore to wash and iron my uniform, if I need to wear it every day. I think we need to practice how to dress when we are young.’’
Even though Taiwan’s government has withdrawn the regulations, some private schools in Taiwan still punish students for breaking hairstyle and uniform rules. According to the Director of the Organisation Department of Taiwan’s Higher Education Union, Por-yee Lin, one third of the country’s schools still have guidelines for hairstyles and uniforms and punish students for breaking them. Por-yee added that schools use ways to discipline students, including cleaning the school on weekends.
Por-yee, as a participant in the protests in the 2000s, emphasised that student protesters got a lot of pressure, not only from school authorities but also from peers in school, since this movement was seen to the authority of the school. ‘’At the beginning, those students who initiated the movement received a lot of pressure from teachers and other students. One school principal even decided to expel students. Eventually they were not expelled, but the school authority sent them to psychological counselling. I think it is unreasonable, since those students were simply fighting for their rights.’’
After negotiations between student protesters and the government, Taiwan’s then-Education Minister, Cheng-sheng Tu, ordered the abolishment of regulations on hairstyles at school. ‘’In 2005, after multiple protests, Taiwan’s government changed its policy. The government said that students could no longer be punished because of a hairstyle. Teachers must now offer guidance on appropriate hairstyles, but punishments are not allowed.’’
During the protests regarding hairstyle regulations, students stressed that hair disciplines at school should not exist in a democratic and liberal society. Executive Director of the Humanistic Education Foundation, Chiao-lan Feng, as an expert in Taiwan’s education policy, said that hair and uniform regulations are symbolic of control. ‘’Ruling on the hairstyle is a very clear example hegemony. It is a way of thought control and coercive persuasion. In prisons and concentration camps, the authority would cut people’s hair. The identical hairstyle is a symbol of control.’’
Chiao-lan added that cutting hair at school, and even in front of peers, violates human rights and causes humiliation.
‘’ In the 21st Century, Taiwan come a long way since the martial law ended. The society has become more and more democratic and liberal. School authorities used to be able to punish students by deducting points or having them clean the campus. If a teacher cuts a student’s hair at school, it certainly violates human rights. This incident had repercussions, so students started to gather petitions online. In 2005, a group of junior high school and high school students initiated ‘’The Family of Anti-hairstyle Rule at school’’. When this group was established on Yahoo Taiwan, more than a thousand members joined immediately.’’
According to Chiao-lan, hairstyle regulations not only result in humiliation, but also restriction of freedoms. ‘’The authority did not acknowledge that controlling a student’s hairstyle is a way to restrict their freedom. It is freedom and body autonomy to choose a hairstyle, a right which Constitutional Law protects for each citizen. The authority needs to have a very legitimate reason to take that right away from an individual.’’
Compared to Taiwan’s students, who are able to dye and perm their hair, Thailand’s students are still facing draconian regulations. Two Taiwanese experts suggested that school authorities should respect the freedoms of each student and teachers should focus more on how to develop ethics and values in students, rather than to control their appearance.
By Franc Han Shih, Thai PBS World
