Male Students March with Skirts to Protest Skirt Ban

The members of DEV-LIS - a prominent union for high school students - marched with skirts in the southern province of Antalya to protest a skirt ban for female students in Gazi Anatolian High School.

Around 5 pm local time yesterday, roughly 20 male students marched towards Cumhuriyet Square in downtown Antalya and made a press statement contesting the skirt ban. The protest went viral on social media as photos of skirt-wearing male students were shared. 

What happened? 

Gazi Anatolian High School Administration banned female students to wear a skirt. 

“Our students are grown-ups. We thought walking up and down the stairs might be an issue,” school principal Hayri Bahşi said.  He also reminded the remarks of Tamer Kırbaç, Minister of Education Local Administrator in the northern province of Trabzon: 

“Male and female students stay at the same building on different floors. The fact that they are using the same staircase is bothering for two years. It is a source of unrest for me.”  

Bahşi continued that the school administration reached the decision of a new dress code within the approval of school family union. 

“Female students will feel more comfortable,” he said. “The decision was taken within the limits of new regulations.” 

“We have decided our children to wear uniforms. We also decided for both our boys and girls to wear pants. This way, all our kids will feel comfortable. It is usually very dusty in classrooms. Our students are grown-ups. We thought walking up and down the stairs might be an issue.” (YY/ÇT/BM)

* Click here to read the original article in Turkish.