University says no to miniskirts, dreadlocks, ripped jeans

The faculty of health sciences and veterinary medicine at the University of Namibia (UNAM) has prohibited all faculty students from wearing ripped jeans, miniskirts, “unreasonable” make-up and having long, “untidy” hair or dreadlocks, writes Envaalde Matheus for The Namibian.

An internal memo written by senior lecturers at the faculty to the vice-chancellor of UNAM’s Hage Geingob campus, says students should be neatly dressed and presentable. Part of the memo says students at the faculty must be clean, tidy and presentable at all times. It says students should present themselves as credible future members of a clinical profession.

Landless People’s Movement youth leader Duminga Ndala says universities have resorted to the regressive practice of policing students’ physical appearance, thereby infringing on the principle of expression. “While we understand the university’s need to uphold the principle of professionalism among students, a university should be a space for the contestation of ideas, not a space where students are policed on their physical appearance,” she says.
Full report on The Nambian site