A petition to allow a young girl to wear trousers to a Catholic school in Melbourne, Australia has been successful, with the school promising it would review its uniform policy.
Simone Cariss, a parent at Our Lady of the Nativity Primary School, started the Change.org petition on Friday after the school declined a request to allow her daughter Asha to wear pants due to its uniform policy, according to Fairfax Media. The petition also pushes for gender equality when it comes to school uniforms across the state of Victoria.
"Pants are approved school uniform for the boys only. Girls must wear a tunic in winter and a dress in summer (apart from sports uniform days)," the petition explains.
"'Because you're a girl' is not something I am prepared to say to my 6 year old daughter."
Asha, a grade one student, had constantly asked her mother "why she couldn't wear pants like the boys," making it easier for her to run, climb, ride a bike and play football like the rest of her cohort.
"'Because you're a girl' is not something I am prepared to say to my 6 year old daughter. A daughter who I have raised to believe she can do and conquer anything, regardless of her gender, and that she can like what she wants to like and not what gender stereotypes dictate she should like," the petition reads.
The petition has amassed more than 14,000 signatures at the time of writing, with people expressing their support on social media with the hashtag #girlswearpantstoo.
And it worked: Cariss was contacted by the school's principal on Monday morning and told that Asha could wear pants, Fairfax Media reported. A school uniform review committee will also be formed, and Asha can start wearing pants from Tuesday.
Changes across the state are yet to come. "There should be choice for girls to wear pants at all schools," she told the publication. "I think it's important that schools are as gender neutral as possible."
Another Australian school, Sydney's Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, has also recently altered its uniform policy after a long battle. Students can wear any piece of uniform they wish, even with typically gendered items such as dresses or pants.
Makes sense. After all, it is 2016, folks.
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Aritcle Credit Jonny Lieu
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