Kid Wins Right for All Schoolgirls in Western Australia to Wear Pants and Shorts

© RIA Novosti . Vitaliy Ankov / Go to the mediabankFirst-formers with their first text-books at the first lesson of the new school year at a Vladivostok's secondary school.
First-formers with their first text-books at the first lesson of the new school year at a Vladivostok's secondary school. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Girls in public schools in western Australia, previously only allowed to wear dresses, skirts, or skorts, will now be allowed to wear pants and shorts to school, joining the rest of the country and much of the world.

The Education Department's policy change was inspired by an 11-year-old student known as Sophia who, with the help of her mother, Krystina Myhre of Perth, wrote a letter to the state's education minister, Sue Ellery.

Evolution of Russian School Uniform - Sputnik International
Evolution of Russian School Uniform

"My daughter and her friends have been quite unhappy about it for some time," Myhre told the New York Times in an interview.

The restrictive dress code understandably made it challenging for Sophia and the other girls at the school and in the region to participate in athletic activities outside of gym class.

In her letter, Sophia wrote, "I think it's really unfair that my brothers have been allowed to wear shorts, and all through [school] I haven't been allowed to except when I have sport."

"I really love kicking the footy, netball and doing handstands at recess and lunch. It is annoying doing these things in a skirt."

The new change allowing girls to wear pants and shorts to school does not apply to private schools, although several private educational institutions in Perth have indicated that they will implement similar policies.

"We are introducing trousers for girls next year," said Robert Henderson, principal of John XXIII College.

"It's certainly not throwing out the traditional uniform," he added.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала