Miniskirt ban for primary pupils
Parents have been told youngsters should be dressed properly for school - and not in high heels mini-shorts and make-up
HIGH heels, miniskirts and make-up have been banned for pupils at a school - a primary school.
The school council at Ploudalmézeau, near Brest in Finistère, voted in the ban which has already been criticised as an "attack on women's freedom".
School director Erell Quéré told Ouest-France that last year several girls in CM2 had been "dressed like women: made-up, miniskirts or shorts just covering their backsides and high heels. As teachers we didn't know what to think, so we spoke to the school council."
Assistant mayor Édith Quéméneur said: "We want our children to be children. Dressed in practical clothing, suitable for school. Miniskirts and stilettos have no place in the schoolyard."
The new rule also bans flipflops and beach shoes but Ms Quéré added that skirts and shorts were not banned, as long as they were worn with opaque tights or leggings.
One mother told Ouest-France: "It's sexism! An attack on women's freedom. My girls came home in tears." She said they sometimes wore mascara or lipgloss, but added: "It's my right as a parent."
School inspector Valérie Lecœur said there was no dress code for schools, except the 2004 ban on religious items, but suggested that the school's rules should be reworded to take out direct references to banned items and calling for "proper or decent clothing". Teachers should speak to parents first and then the pupils in class.
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