According to News24, the young girls who attend Pretoria High School for Girls say that their school’s rules forbid African hairstyles such as afros, bantu knots, dreadlocks and braids.
In a world where woman’s bodies in general are being policed, it now seems that our young black girls are being told what to do with their hair and which hairstyles are “acceptable” to their community.
The girls claim that they are told to chemically straighten their hair and that it's frowned upon if they wear natural styles although the school's code of conduct does not specifically forbid that. Here is a screenshot of Pretoria High School for Girls' code of conduct regarding hairstyles and appearance:*
Yet girls claim this is not what's being enforced. The hairstyles the girls may allegedly not wear are the following four:
Afros:
Bantu knots:
Dreadlocks:
Braids:
*This article has been updated to include Pretoria High School for Girls official code of conduct.