Battle of 5-y.o. girl kicked out of school for dreadlocks ends after Jamaica High Court rules to ban Dreadlocks in classrooms

Now this is a doozy. If you can’t wear dreads in Jamaica, home of Bob Marley, where can you wear them at?

On Friday, Jamaica’s high court ruled that a school was within its rights to demand that a 5-year-old girl cut her dreadlocks to attend classes. This is not only a surprising decision to Jamaica and it’s rastafarian culture, but also a surprise to blacks in other countries.

Jamaica has long since been the home of dreadlocks and a symbol of the late Bob Marley.

The ruling by the Supreme Court of Jamaica ended a two-year battle after the little girl was told she must cut her dreadlocks for “hygiene” reasons to study at Kensington Primary School in a Kingston suburb.

The little girls entire family wears dreadlocks.

Here is the original argument between the mother and the school principal.

This has me wondering if the island is seeking to “Americanize itself and it’s citizens.” This is definintiely something that many will be keeping a close eye on.

Andrew Holness, Jamaica’s Primeminister recently tweeted a press release stating emphatically the following:

The government has always maintained that our children must not be discriminated against, nor deprived of their right to an education on the basis of their hairstyle.

Do you feel that dreadlocks are unsanitary? Have you ever smelled unpleasant dreads before?

From my own personal perspective, each person I’ve encountered has taken great care of their dreadlocks and maintained them. I’ve seen people with the most beautiful dreadlocks.

Sad that people’s personal style choices are being taken away from them. Black people can’t help that our help that our natural hair locks up.