Girls in a Tunisian High School have rebelled against school uniforms which they term as a discrimination by the fact that the uniforms are not enforced on male students.
High school female students have been wearing school uniforms while their male counterparts wear what they like, this has been the norm for quite a long time until a group of girls took it up to themselves as they protested against their uniforms. At the elite Bizerte public school in the north, the girls took an action and turned against the school rule that requires them to wear a blouse part of their uniforms, instead, they all came in white T-shirts as they demanded an end to what they termed as a discrimination. Interestingly, the boys also came in solidarity with their classmates and turned up in the same attire.
According to an interview with AFP, Siwar Tebourbi, a female high school student explained the blouse itself is not the problem, but rather the fact that the blouse is worn only by the girls. On the other hand, school authorities say the uniforms are aimed at erasing social inequalities among students and failure to wear might result in an expulsion.
Tunisia is a country that experienced a political revolution in the year 2011 after 23 years of dictatorship, later on, the country had its constitution drafted in the year 2014 which as well endorses gender equality. This has prompted the girls and given them more reasons to fight for their rights. According to Nabil Smadhii who is the regional Education Commissioner, the ministry of education should not be the only one supervising the issue of school uniforms, instead, they should involve all stakeholders so as to ensure that the issues are collective and that solutions reached satisfy each and every one.
