A five-year-old Rastafarian boy whose hair is dreadlocked has been taken out of his school, which had demanded “proof” of his religion.
The Delft child’s angry mom, who asked not to be named, says the child was humiliated when he started Grade R on 15 February after he overheard a teacher at Eindhoven Primary School talking about his hair, claiming it was untidy.
The 32-year-old woman from Eindhoven says the boy follows the religion chosen by his uncles and his parents have made a choice to respect his wishes.
“We are Christians, but my brothers and his uncles are Rastafarians,” the mom says.
“They don’t smoke dagga, but they grow dreads and play in church bands and at festivals.
“My son is also a drummer and we raise him with good values and he has dreadlocks.
“Last year we applied to four schools and he was accepted at Eindhoven.”
The mother says she plaited her son’s 20cm-long dreadlocks neatly for his first day at school.
“When I went to fetch him at school and asked him how it was, the first thing he said was that his teacher spoke about his hair,” she says.
“The teacher saw me through the window and she came out and called me.
“She said, ‘I think you know what it is about’. Then she said I must cut his hair because it was against the code of conduct.
“The principal was present and said the dreadlocks must be cut off.
“I didn’t cut it because it is unnecessary. What does his education have to do with his hair?” she says.
The mom consulted her family: “They felt it disrespected the beliefs of the family to cut his dreadlocks. My husband also said no.
“The principal asked us to come in on Monday and we decided not to send him back if they want him to cut his hair.
“We looked for schools all over but they were full, so we enrolled him in a creche for Grade R.
“I'm angry because there are rules in the code of conduct like boys cannot wear earrings, but you see that at the school.
“The school is discriminating against my child. They even asked us to prove his Rastafarianism; I mean they don’t ask children to prove they are Muslim or Christian.”
Western Cape Education Department (WCED) spokesperson Millicent Merton claims the learner was at no stage refused access to the school or sent away because of his hairstyle.
“The principal had a meeting with the mother and class teacher which was concluded amicably.
“He accepted the decision by the parents to raise their child as Rastafarian.
“On 18 February, the principal invited the parents for a consultation, but the invitation was declined and the parents proceeded to withdraw their child on 22 February.”
However, the mom says this is incorrect: “The principal never said that the school accepted that he was a Rastafarian, or that he has dreadlocks.
“We removed him because we felt he had already been humiliated.”
monique.duval@inl.co.za