Sydney hairstylist Laura Mazikana relishes the freedom to experiment with her afro hair, but it wasn’t always that way.
While attending a Catholic high school in Sydney’s inner-west, the 21-year-old said she was told to remove her threaded hairstyle - a method used to protect fragile afro hair - because it did not comply with the school's grooming policy.
At the same time, Ms Mazikana, who was in Year 9, said she was also informed that she would have to cut her afro if it was over a certain length, despite no length limit for students with non-afro straight hair.
“I was sent to the principal’s office in Year 9 and he basically called my hairstyle 'silly'. I cried in front of him … he just told me I had to take it out,” she told SBS News.
“I felt like I had to assimilate and once I started wearing a straight weave, there was no issue at school. No one questioned that I went from having shoulder-length hair, to hair down to my waist.”
Ms Mazikana in Year 7, and with her natural hair after finishing school. Source: Supplied
Ms Mazikana, along with other former students who say they were forced to cut their natural afro hair or remove protective styles to comply with uniform policies, are now calling for hair to be included in anti-discrimination legislation in Australia.
Leading the charge is Sydney musician James Emmanuel, 21, who also said he was forced to remove his braids at a private high school in regional New South Wales. His experience was not an isolated one, he said.
Earlier this month, a private Christian school in Brisbane was found to have after they threatened to expel him for having long hair, which his family said was being grown for cultural reasons.
More than 5,300 people have so far signed a Change.org petition started by Mr Emmanuel calling for uniform and grooming policies that discriminate against afro or other culturally specific hairstyles to be outlawed.
“Once it starts to take shape, like a formidable afro shape, then you start getting the threats,” he said.
“Not having the option to express yourself, but also getting in trouble when your hair grows to a certain length, it’s not great for your perception of self.”
During a family trip to Nairobi, Mr Emmanuel said he got his first set of protective braids, which took five hours and “was so painful”. But shortly after returning to school in Year 10, he said he was told to take them out, despite the braids sitting above his collar.
“I want to have kids too, I don’t want them to be forced to assimilate, to shave their heads. When you shave your head it’s like being a prisoner,” he said.
James Emmanuel with his braids during a trip to Kenya. Source: Supplied
In NSW, where Mr Emmanuel and Ms Mazikana attended school, the Anti-Discrimination Act makes it illegal to deny a student's admission or limit their access to benefits on the basis of their race, but it does not comment on other school policies.
Marrickville’s Casimir Catholic College’s current uniform policy, where Ms Mazikana attended school, specifically outlaws the wearing of braids, alongside undercuts, steps, cuts less than a number two, streaks, noticeable dyes and gel or styling products.
But when contacted by SBS News, a Sydney Catholic Schools spokesperson, which operates the college, said cultural and practical considerations were taken into account “in practice”.
“There are currently students at the school who wear their hair in braids as part of their cultural identity, so the policy does not seek to outlaw all braided styles,” they said, adding that they were welcoming of students of all backgrounds.
Mr Emmanuel now. Source: Sam Lax/Supplied
“What it does seek to capture however is a simple, uniformed look for our entire student body.”
Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange, where Mr Emmanuel said he was instructed to remove his braids, said the school's current grooming policy does not prohibit any specific hairstyles, but requires boys' hair to be near and off the collar without any "unorthodox" cuts or colours.
"Where students of African heritage may once have been a rarity in Australian schools, in recent years their numbers have grown and a greater understanding of their needs is emerging," Kinross Wolaroi School principal Andrew Perry told SBS News in a statement.
"Existing school grooming standards which do not accommodate the natural hair texture and growth of African and Indigenous students have been identified as one issue faced by these students ... A student’s natural hair is central to their identity and there should be room for negotiation to accommodate this during their school life."
Shantelle*, who did not wish to use her full name as she currently works in the NSW education sector, said she believes there’s a lack of knowledge about the cultural significance of braids and other protective styles in educational institutions.
While she’s worn braids from a young age to protect her hair from damage, they also form part of her cultural identity, she said.
“When you’re asking someone to remove that style out of their hair, then you don’t really know what you’re asking,” she said.
“There’s a bit of confusion with people, where they view braids as equivalent to a ‘Bali braids’ hairstyle.
“This isn’t a holiday style you get when you go overseas to a tropical area, this is a style that’s got a historical background to it. It’s a style that has cultural reference to it, and it’s something that allows us to stay connected to our culture.”
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell, who the petition is addressed to, said the Anti-Discrimination Act protects all students from discrimination based on their race. All public schools in the state have trained anti-racism officers on site, she said.
"Schools are safe places for learning and conversations," she said.
"While I do not control the uniform policies of non-government schools, I encourage students at non-government schools to have a discussion with their school about their uniform policy if they are advocating for change."
