Over the past few weeks, we have posted articles on the devastating earthquake in Japan, war-torn Ivory Coast, and the persecution of Message believers in Iran, but there is a situation among the public school system in Uganda that may go unseen by the world, but it has a great effect on the Body of Christ.
Claiming that long hair in girls distracts them from their studies and and short hair promotes neatness and self-discipline, many schools in Uganda are requiring female students to cut their hair shorter than one inch. The argument has even been used that if they allow girls to have long hair, then they must allow boys to have long hair also. To complicate matters, it is often only black girls that are targeted, rather than all nationalities. These absurd arguments force our young ladies to either conform to the world or be expelled from school.
Brother Bolahs, VGR Office Manager in Kampala, gives the following update on a court case between believers and the government:
There is another court case between a group registered under the end time Message churches and the government regarding cutting hair for school-going girls.
The brothers handling the matter called me for a meeting to discuss this matter over the weekend. The matter is now in Fort Portal court pending judgment.
I was not able to attend the meeting but called this morning, and I was informed the group has agreed to proceed with the case to its final conclusion. They gave an example of a similar case in Kenya in which the brothers won.
They think if the brothers win this case, their school-going girls will not be required to cut hair as it is a requirement in some schools.
...there is still even another case with the government and end time Message churches again mentioned.
God bless you,
Bolahs
Here are a few comments from the Ugandan Public School system that have been recently published in the news media:
Maintaining hair is time-wasting
Long hair can prevent most girls from performing well in school. Teenage students always want to look pretty. They will spend most of their time on their hair with minimum concentration on books.
Secondly, long hair can bring conflicts or fights when girls begin competing among themselves and even sometimes, female teachers get some misunderstandings with students on this issue.
It is also costly to keep long hair neat. The costs keep the girls worried on how they can keep up the standards. They also subject the girls to temptations. Long hair distracts school girls mainly in college and high school.
-College student
During my primary school and high school days, we used to grow hair but at some point it was abolished in my junior high school. Girls arrived at school late or did not hand in their homework in time, not because they were lazy, but because they spent a lot of time braiding each other's hair.
It was good that my headmaster at that time recommended hair less than two inches for girls. We then spent less money and time on hair and focused on our studies. I eventually had all the freedom to grow my hair after my O'level.
-Former student
Nakate Kikomeko, the headmistress of Trinity College Nabbingo, says if a school allows students to grow their hair, it would necessitate giving the students permission and extra time to clean and maintain their hair.
Even more, some schools have a policy of allowing half-castes and Asians to keep their hair long while the "local" students are forced to cut theirs short.
Parents are equally divided on the issue. Mauda Nakatto, a parent, supports the schools which don't allow long hair, saying students from poor families would not fit in with those from well-to-do families who have all the means to keep their hair long.
-(Quotes published on allafrica.com)
Please keep the Ugandan believers in your prayers. These precious young souls are not only suffering the pressures that all young people face while trying to keep their testimony alive amidst a world of sin, but they are now being forced to conform to the world or be expelled from school. May God bless their gallant stand for the Truth.
Did you see this court order this week here in Indiana? [Congregation says, "Yes."--Ed.] What a shame! Less than fifteen years ago, a family here in Port Fulton... I think some of the family is setting here tonight. Here in Port Fulton, they sent a little girl home from school for wearing shorts to school. And to... This week, they're trying to sue and put out of the school, and they did it, a little girl that refused to wear shorts in school. What's the matter with our nation? I thought this was a land of free. I thought we had a right, religious freedom.
This father stood up and said, "It's against our religious belief for our children to wear shorts, our little girls, sixteen, seventeen years old, to wear shorts. It's against our religious belief." And they dismissed it, expelled the child from the school.
62-1013 The Influence Of Another