Human Rights Commission: Student Code Prohibiting Perms and Dyeing Hair Violates Human Rights

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The National Human Rights Commission has ruled that school regulations prohibiting students from perming or dyeing their hair and imposing penalty points constitute a violation of human rights.

On the 24th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended the principal of A Girls' High School revise the 'student regulations' related to hair. The commission stated, "The student regulations that restrict students' hairstyles and assign penalty points excessively limit students' rights to freely express their individuality and self-determination, which are guaranteed under Article 10 of the Constitution."

Previously, the Human Rights Commission received a complaint from a student attending A Girls' High School, alleging that the school violated the right to express individuality and general freedom of conduct by prohibiting perms and hair dyeing and assigning penalty points according to the student regulations. The school explained, "The student regulations reflect the opinions of students, parents, and teachers," and added, "The prohibition of perms and hair dyeing was considered due to concerns about student delinquency following hair liberalization and difficulties in lifestyle guidance."

However, the Human Rights Commission's Committee on the Rights of the Child rejected the school's claims, stating, "This is merely based on vague assumptions and expectations that regulating students' hairstyles would prevent delinquency and further enable guidance and protection in private life outside of school." Regarding the school's defense that the hair regulations were developed after gathering opinions from parents and teachers, the commission judged, "This only secured procedural legitimacy in a formal sense," and "It is difficult to see that substantive legitimacy was secured."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.