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“Those Are Rules”: 12-Year-Old Sparks Controversy By Refusing To Cut His Long Hair For School
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“Those Are Rules”: 12-Year-Old Sparks Controversy By Refusing To Cut His Long Hair For School

“Those Are Rules”: 12-Year-Old Sparks Controversy By Refusing To Cut His Long Hair For School12-Year-Old Goes Viral For Refusing To Cut His Hair Despite School Threatening To Expel Him“It’s Part Of Their Identity”: School Criticized For Demanding 12-Year-Old Cut His Long HairMom Left “Devastated” Over Son Being Forced To Cut Hair Due To “Outdated” School Uniform Rules12-Year-Old Calls Out His School’s “Disrespect” After He’s Threatened With Expulsion Over Hair“Outdated” School Uniform Rules Threaten 12-Year-Old Boy Who Keeps Long Hair Due To Culture12-Year-Old Sparks Controversy By Refusing To Cut His Long Hair For School12-Year-Old Boy Risks School Expulsion For Refusing To Cut His Hair: “Black Boys Have Braids”“Black Boys Have Braids”: 12-Year-Old Faces School Expulsion Threats For Refusing To Cut HairSchool Criticized For Demanding 12-Year-Old Cut His Long Hair
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A 12-year-old boy of mixed heritage from the UK was punished by his school as a result of refusing to cut his long hair, defying the establishment’s “uniform rules.” He is now risking expulsion.

Farouk James has faced several detentions at his school in London since April despite the fact his hair was braided neatly for school.

Highlights
  • A 12-year-old in the UK faces expulsion for long, braided hair breaking 'uniform rules'.
  • Farouk James, a model with 250k Instagram followers, challenged the hair policy.
  • Punishment for Farouk James's hair began in April, with threats of expulsion.

The schoolboy, who models and has over 250,000 followers on Instagram, has since been threatened with expulsion if he does not chop off his locks.

Farouk reportedly said this was disrespectful, as “in Black British culture, black boys have braids,” he told First News.

A 12-year-old mixed-heritage boy in the UK faces expulsion for refusing to cut his long, neatly braided hair

Image credits: faroukjames

Punishments by his school began in late April, his mother, Bonnie Miller, reportedly said.

She told LBC: “Today is the first official day that Farouk James is to be punished for having long hair. 

“His request for an exemption based upon cultural and medical grounds have been refused.

“This situation is devastating for us as we have been made aware the road will lead to permanent expulsion if his hair is now not cut.”

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Image credits: faroukjames

In a previous interview, published in February, Bonnie told Little Things: “His father’s from Ghana so culturally, his family told me not to cut it until he was three.

“Well, that was part of the cultural thing, so I agreed to not cut his hair until he’s three. 

“But obviously we didn’t expect it would grow as much as it did and it just kept on growing.

“Parents have shown me they have had to chop their child’s hair off, and the devastation it has caused.

“It’s a part of their identity. 

“You are asking someone to take away a huge part of themselves, to fit in to what is socially expected.”

Farouk James argued that his hair was part of Black British culture

Image credits: faroukjames

Bonnie has been challenging school uniform policies since at least 2020.

In January 2020, Farouk appeared on ITV’s This Morning show alongside his mother when he was just eight years old.

At the time, the little boy, who was already working as a child model, was prepared to move to secondary school while his mom expressed being terrified he would be made to chop off his locks due to school regulations. 

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Bonnie fought back and said not only were the “outdated” rules discriminatory, but she was also prepared to go as far as declaring Farouk as non-binary if it meant he got to keep his long hair.

Image credits: badmotherblogger

In 2022, the Equality Human Rights Commission published a non-statutory guidance aimed at governing bodies, academy trust boards, education authorities, and school leaders at all schools in England, Scotland, and Wales. 

Hairstyles worn because of cultural, family, and social customs can be part of a pupil’s ethnic origin and, therefore, fall under the protected characteristic of race, the commission states.

It further explains that a school policy that bans certain hairstyles adopted by specific racial or religious groups, without the possibility of any exceptions on racial or religious grounds, is likely to constitute unlawful indirect race, religion, or belief discrimination. 

This includes hairstyles such as (but not limited to): head coverings, including religious-based head coverings and African heritage head wraps, braids, locs, twists, cornrows, plaits, skin fades, and natural Afro hairstyles.

“Leave him be,” a reader commented

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Andréa Oldereide

Andréa Oldereide

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I’m a journalist who works as Bored Panda’s News Team's Senior Writer. The news team produces stories focused on pop culture. Whenever I get the opportunity and the time, I investigate and produce my own exclusive stories, where I get to explore a wider range of topics. Some examples include: “Doberman Tobias the viral medical service dog” and “The lawyer who brought rare uterine cancer that affects 9/11 victims to light”. You've got a tip? email me: andrea.o@boredpanda.com

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Andréa Oldereide

Andréa Oldereide

Writer, BoredPanda staff

I’m a journalist who works as Bored Panda’s News Team's Senior Writer. The news team produces stories focused on pop culture. Whenever I get the opportunity and the time, I investigate and produce my own exclusive stories, where I get to explore a wider range of topics. Some examples include: “Doberman Tobias the viral medical service dog” and “The lawyer who brought rare uterine cancer that affects 9/11 victims to light”. You've got a tip? email me: andrea.o@boredpanda.com

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Ugnė Lazauskaitė

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Ugnė Lazauskaitė

Ugnė Lazauskaitė

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I am employed as a Visual Editor in the news team. I make sure you have the best pictures near the most interesting text. In general all day I am looking at all you favourite celebrities facies and I am geting payed for it!

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Karen Krause
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

His hair is clean and neatly braided for school. It's not like in the army or police where hair can become a safety problem. Let kids have some form of self-identity in a uniformed world. He can still learn. He's also a model, so the hair does affect his work, is the school going to make up the monetary loss if he doesn't get any more jobs?

Panda Bear
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless his hair is causing issues then it’s none of the school’s business. Uniform rules are stupid anyways.

Lou Cam
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't disagree with uniform policies per say (poor kids don't get bullied for not having designer clothes or even enough different clothes for the week) but the level of enforcement and rules over non uniform items like hair are the issue here.

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ElfVibratorGlitter
Community Member
6 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think that unless his hair is hurting him or someone else, STFU. Can't we celebrate our differences and appreciate other people's cultures?

Marcellus II
Community Member
6 months ago (edited)

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Here it's a made-up culture though. There's thousands of Ghanean boys in the UK without hair that's 2/3 of their bodylength. He's just playing a card, the "you don't know [insert specific tribe from Ghana] traditions". I can absolutely guarantee you, no Ghanean school would tolerate long hair like that --- just like Nigerian and Rwandan friends have always told how anybody 'rasta-looking' gets randomly mistreated by authorities from random police beatings/extortions/harassment on. [And my money says, the strongest tradition in "his" tribe is, "make sure you marry within our tribe".]

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Karen Krause
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

His hair is clean and neatly braided for school. It's not like in the army or police where hair can become a safety problem. Let kids have some form of self-identity in a uniformed world. He can still learn. He's also a model, so the hair does affect his work, is the school going to make up the monetary loss if he doesn't get any more jobs?

Panda Bear
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless his hair is causing issues then it’s none of the school’s business. Uniform rules are stupid anyways.

Lou Cam
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't disagree with uniform policies per say (poor kids don't get bullied for not having designer clothes or even enough different clothes for the week) but the level of enforcement and rules over non uniform items like hair are the issue here.

Load More Replies...
ElfVibratorGlitter
Community Member
6 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think that unless his hair is hurting him or someone else, STFU. Can't we celebrate our differences and appreciate other people's cultures?

Marcellus II
Community Member
6 months ago (edited)

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Here it's a made-up culture though. There's thousands of Ghanean boys in the UK without hair that's 2/3 of their bodylength. He's just playing a card, the "you don't know [insert specific tribe from Ghana] traditions". I can absolutely guarantee you, no Ghanean school would tolerate long hair like that --- just like Nigerian and Rwandan friends have always told how anybody 'rasta-looking' gets randomly mistreated by authorities from random police beatings/extortions/harassment on. [And my money says, the strongest tradition in "his" tribe is, "make sure you marry within our tribe".]

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