Navigating the tangled quagmire of school rules frequently evokes a spectrum of emotions, with an assortment of fond recollections and difficult moments, and amidst this learning environment, regulations control student’s everyday lives, from practical guidelines such as limiting jewellery during sporting events to bizarre disciplinary measures regarding seemingly insignificant matters such as cosmetics and other things as well.
However, amidst these stringent norms, guidelines regarding a child’s appearance frequently clash with their innate desire for self-expression, especially during key stages of their formative years. For an 8-year-old boy named Farouk and his mother Bonnie, these regulations became a considerable obstacle to access to a quality education because of Farouk’s long, prominent hair.
Model scouts are attracted to Farouk James from London, England because of his gorgeous head. He has been photographed in Italy and New York and is currently employed as a child model, yet God damn it, he can’t get into school, and his appearance has caused him problems. He was rejected by several schools because of the length of his hair.
Farouk James’ mother, Bonnie Miller, claims she was told that her brother’s hair was too short when he was at school.
Forcing your child to cut their hair is against our human rights and our Government should put legislation in place to safeguard children from these obsolete, disciplining rules.
This child has done nothing wrong apart from having long hair and yet schools have rejected him. It’s just hair for goodness sake. And if girls can have long hair in school, shouldn’t boys have the same rights as well?
And what about teachers, I can remember being in school and one of my teachers having long hair, and stupid sandals, for goodness sake, I always thought he was Jesus in drag.
Now this young boy will have to say goodbye to his friends as they’ve all been accepted into the schools that he wants to so desperately attend.
So what, now schools are saying that if you don’t like the rules, find another school, but then your options are restricted when it comes to schools with promising results in London.
There are probably going to be trolls out there with their opinions and I’m sure many of their views will be extremely nasty, and yes, some might say rules are rules, but if that is the case, then schools are coming across as extremely authoritarian, were not in 1823 were in 2023.
According to Bonnie, Farouk’s father is from Ghana, and his parents didn’t cut his hair until he was three because of cultural customs. At that point, he was hooked and so was she with his beautiful hair.
Bonnie even created a Change.org petition to prohibit hair prejudice in the United Kingdom as a result of this circumstance.
She said that they were putting together a real team and they were calling it ‘Generation Mane’, and that they would fight until those regulations are changed, not just the United Kingdom but the whole world.
With more than a quarter of a million followers, Farouk’s mother runs an Instagram account that highlights his life as a playful boy and child model, but even with all the love and support she gets online, she still gets hate mail, and that she’s received a lot of unfavourable feedback.
Farouk’s hair is part of who he is and why should he be made to cut it to appease anyone?
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 