KABATAAN Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel on Monday said gender-based haircut policies in schools should now be declared as absurd, outdated, and irrelevant.

In his privilege speech, Manuel pointed out the effect of conservative and antiquated regulations in schools on the right to education of members of the LGBTQIA community, or the queer community.

This was after a chapter of queer advocates organization Bahaghari in the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology or EARIST reported that there are 25 transgender students who were forced to have haircuts as part of their enrollment requirement in the coming semester.

“Kumalat noong March 15 ang isang video ng naturang sapilitang pagpapagupit. Bilang reaksyon, maraming mga kabataan ang umalma sa ganung haircut policy kahit na hindi naman sila estudyante ng EARIST, dahil sila din ay nakaranas o naging saksi ng kaparehong insidente sa kanilang paaralan,” Manuel stated.

“Lumilitaw na malawakan itong problema para sa mga miyembro ng queer community sa mga eskwelahan. Igini-giit din ng iba’t ibang mga organisasyon at personahe na labag ang sapilitang pagpapagupit sa lokal na ordinansa sa lungsod ng Maynila, na nagbabawal sa anumang porma ng diskriminasyon batay sa SOGIESC,” he added.

After a series of dialogues, the management of EARIST decided to stop the implementation of haircut policies and promised to create new policies in consultation with student organizations.

“Mr Speaker, kailangan po nating kilalanin na absurd, outdated, at irrelevant na po ang gender-based haircut policies sa mga eskwelahan. Hindi sukatan ng galing ng mga estudyante ang haba, ikli o porma ng kanilang buhok. Hindi rin ito marka ng kung gaano kadisiplinado ang mga estudyante. It is senseless to deny the enrollment of a student on the basis of their hair,” he insisted.

He further said that these policies are offshoots of an educational system that merely aims to produce meek and docile employees out of our youth.

“Kaya naman Mr. Speaker, para mahubog nang husto at tama ang mga kabataan, dapat maging mga malayang pook para sa pagpapahayag ang ating mga unibersidad at eskwelahan. Naniniwala tayo na kayang maging magaling ng kabataang Pilipino – gaano man kahaba, kaikli, o kakulay ang kanilang buhok,” he further stressed.