Peru school plan would ban nail polish, short skirts

Peru's government plans to consult the public on school rules that would ban girls from wearing nail polish and restrict short skirts, while also barring boys from having long hair.

President Keiko Fujimori outlined the proposals during a visit to a school on the outskirts of Lima, saying order should return to schools and classrooms as well as to streets.

Education Minister Jose Chang said the government would ban nail varnish and address “the appropriate length” for school uniform skirts. The proposals also include bans on makeup, hair dye and cellphone use without a teacher's approval, and the permanent expulsion of “the most unruly students” from the education system.

Fujimori presented the plan as a response to bullying, sexual harassment and violence in classrooms.

Two feminist NGOs, the Manuela Ramos Movement and the Flora Tristan Peruvian Women's Center, rejected that argument, saying controls on hair or makeup do not prevent sexual assault or other school violence. The National Human Rights coordinator called the restrictions “populist and authoritarian.”