PNP Welcomes Court Ruling Allowing Dreadlocks in Schools

Shadow Minister of Culture, Dr. Deborah Hickling Gordon, is hailing the ruling by the Court of Appeal, which found that the St. Catherine-based Kensington Primary breached the constitutional rights of a child when it denied her access to the school because she wears her hair in dreadlocks. 

The ruling partly overturns a July 2020 decision by the Constitutional Court which found that none of the child’s constitutional rights had been breached.

Dr. Hickling Gordon says the Court of Appeal’s ruling is a triumph for Afro-centric self-expression.

The then-five-year-old child, who is referred to as ZV because she’s a minor, was denied enrolment at Kensington Primary.

The school’s principal advised her parents that there was a policy against dreadlocks.

The school told the parents that the ban was based on previous experiences with poor grooming, which led to an outbreak of lice and fungus.

On Monday, President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Patrick Brooks, declared that the policy breached ZV’s rights to freedom of expression and equitable treatment by a public authority.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hickling Gordon says the PNP finds it telling that the government argued against the claim brought by the Rastafarian child, both at first instance and on appeal.

Dr. Deborah Hickling Gordon, Shadow Minister of Culture.