Students told to keep skirts below the knee because of boys and male staff

Students at a New Zealand school are using the power of media to fight back after they were told their skirt hemlines were too short for school.

It wasn't the fact they were short that was the actual problem, it was that the school advised the reason for the rule was because it was a problem for boys and male staff. Yep.

A group of girls attending Henderson High in Auckland were spoken to after a uniform inspection regarding the length of their skirts, according to Newshub. The girls were told if they didn't lower their skirts below their knees they would be given detention. 

Student Sade Tuttle told the publication she didn't have a problem with fixing her skirt, until the deputy principle said the reason behind the request was to "keep our girls safe, stop boys getting ideas and create a good work environment for the male staff."

Tuttle and another Year 11 student, Jazmyn Green, said they were upset by the comments. "The rules themselves aren't the problem; the problem is when these codes target girls specifically because their bodies are sexual and distracting," Tuttle told Newshub.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The principle, Mike Purcell, said in a statement to the publication the school has rules that have been in place for a long time and families are advised about them when they enroll. He made no apologies about the rules. 

"They include a stipulation that the hemline of female students' skirts must be on the knee, no higher," Purcell said. "The uniform is practical for school wear and these rules are regularly enforced to ensure that all students can focus on their learning and feel comfortable in the school environment."

This perspective from school administrators is not new, and neither is the reaction by students. There have been numerous cases in the U.S. where students who were dismayed about sexist school rules used the power of social media to get their message out.

Californian high school student Sanam Nawim started a petition in May 2015 to stand up against school rules that say you can't wear undergarments that are visible and restrict the length of skirts. She claimed these rules only applied to females and were in place as it was "distracting to boys."

While, Lauren Wiggins, a student in New Brunswick, Canada, said she was reprimanded for wearing a halter dress to school as it exposed her shoulders. She claimed she was called a sexual distraction and that her dress was inappropriate to wear around her male classmates. Wiggins brought her issues to the attention of the media and was suspended. 

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