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Female students ordered to keep covered Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar Incoming female high school students in Makassar, South Sulawesi, have been ordered to leave their leg-baring short skirts in the closet to avoid attracting unwelcome attention. Makassar Mayor Ilham Arif Siradjuddin has issued a circular requiring students to don long skirts to ensure they maintain decent conduct and to prevent inviting sexual harassment. "There are several reasons why we are obliging female students to don long skirts. One of them is to improve their morality and behavior," he said, adding that he was fed up with the way young women behaved. "Therefore, we want them to wear decent clothes at school and hope that their parents support this policy at home." The new dress code has divided the local community, with the enthusiasm of proponents met by opposition from groups who say the requirement restricts the students' freedom of movement and distracts from more pressing problems in education. The circular, approved eight months ago, was enacted as of June 28. Ilham Arif argued the policy was formulated based on actual conditions in society, such as female students wearing short skirts while riding motorbikes with men, which, he said, exposed their private parts. He said another reason for its issuance was the high incidence of sexual harassment of underage female students. Initially, the policy is applicable only to new students, while those in their second and third years of high school are allowed to use their ordinary uniforms. It will be applied to all students gradually. In the circular, local education office head Muhammad Asmin imposed the policy for all state and private schools, including non-Islamic institutions, on the grounds the policy was intended to improve the students' sense of decency. The policy has been warmly welcomed by some educators. Head of the local junior high school principals association, Saleh Rugaya, said it was expected to help reduce the crime rate, especially sexual harassment at schools. He said that all junior high schools in Makassar were ready to adopt the new regulation if it was extended to their institutions. "The policy is positive, we would agree to apply it," he said. But others consider the dress code is restrictive and are balking at enforcing it. Sister Marthina Tongli, head of the Cendrawasih Catholic school, said that long skirts would hold up students hurrying to get to school on time. Marthina also said the mayor's policy interfered with the school management's regulations, including its own dress code. At her school, she added, all students were asked to wear decent attire. "We will not apply the policy because we consider that it is not urgent. There are still many other problems which need handling, like increasing the quality of education." printer friendly [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> See what's inside the new Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/2pRQfA/bOaOAA/yQLSAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/