• The school principal, Reuben Oliambo, however, denied the claims that the girl had been expelled for failing to shave her hair.
He said the mother suggested that she would take her daughter to another school where students are allowed to have long hair.
Image: EMOJONG OSERE
A school in Teso is on the spot for allegedly expelling a girl whose religion prohibits women and girls from shaving their hair.
The girl's mother said her daughter was expelled on August 29 from St. Mark ACK Machakusi Secondary School for refusing to shave her hair.
"My daughter was forced out of school and was told not to report back for studies unless she shaves her hair," the mother said.
"She is saved and the church we go to does not allow women and girls to shave hair. When I took her back to school, we were told that she must follow school regulations by shaving hair like other students,” she added.
The girl is a Form One student at the school.
The school principal, Reuben Oliambo, however, denied claims that the girl had been expelled for failing to shave her hair.
He said when the issue was discussed by the school’s Board of Management, the mother of the girl suggested that she would take her daughter to another school where students are allowed to have long hair.
The principal said the mother told her daughter after the board meeting to remain at home as she waited to be admitted to a different school.
“Traditionally, every school has got a culture on discipline. For us in this school, every student is supposed to have short hair for purposes of uniformity,” Oliambo said.
"In fact, it is her mother who said that if the girl cannot be accommodated in this school, she would look for another school which we accepted,” the principal said.
He added that when the girl was joining the school, she used to shave her hair.
"It only reached a point when she said she had joined a religion which prohibits women and girls from shaving,” he said.
The mother to the minor said her pleas to convince the school principal that the issue has religious backing fell on deaf ears as the institution maintained that the girl would not be allowed for studies without shaving.
“I told the school teachers that the issue of my daughter’s hair is religious and I cannot force her to shave,” she said.
Pastor Vincent Emuria, the founder of the church said the school made a mistake by sending the girl home despite Kenyan laws guaranteeing freedom of worship in learning institutions.
Image: EMOJONG OSERE
“Our appeal to the Ministry of Education is that it should come in and help the girl return to school while adhering to her religious teachings,” Emuria said.
“We do not want violation of religious rights to continue at school,” he added.
The girl said she loves studies just as she loves serving in the Christian world.
“I love studies and I want to study while respecting my religion,” she said.
"I appeal to the government to intervene and have my daughter return to school. It is unfair to expel somebody because of her faith,” her mother, who said she had paid full school fees said.
On June 19, 2022, President Uhuru Kenyatta asked school principals to allow learners to exercise their religious beliefs without discrimination.
“I want to reiterate, more so to our school principals who are still discriminating the Akurinu because of their turbans, that is not right. There is no law that bars anyone from identifying themselves by their religion,” Uhuru said.
He spoke at the annual General Conference of the Akurinu church held at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi.