Juxtaposing Rights, Religion and Culture with institutional principles on the foundations of Constitutional Provisions

One of the news items that took over the various social media and news platforms was the matter concerning two students that Achimota Senior High School allegedly rejected for wearing dreadlocks. That the school had indicated they are to shave the dreadlocks if they desire to obtain their high school education in Achimota. The matter led to the Ghana Education Service issuing a directive for the students to be accepted by the school. On page 13 of the Daily Graphic in the Saturday 20th March 2020 edition captioned “GES orders Achimota School to readmit Rastafarians”, the Director-General of the GES directed that “The student is a Rastafarian and if there is evidence to show that he is a Rastafarian, all that he needs to do is to tie his hairs neatly”.

While some accept the directive, others see it as one that will open the pandora box.

The box of myths and with so many things unknown

A relative went to an Islamic training college. She had to do with hijab to be a student. At a minor seminary, in 2000, a guy had to shave before he was accepted from a fetish background. They complied because the school had something everyone wanted and one had to do what they ask. In the week that the matter broke, in one of the hospitals for the Adventists, no staff had earrings. In Valley View University, Saturdays are observed as Adventists do no matter their religious belief and background. Here is the case that a refusal to cut one’s hair to conform to uniformity has been upheld by the authorities responsible for managing our educational system.

In one of the responses to that directive, someone wrote and quizzed with the following. “Would the GES allow students from the traditionalist background under a priestess apprenticeship to move around in school and to class with these white and red clothes, long plaited hair with beads on ankles, powder on the face, and walking barefooted? Wouldn’t this directive by GES open the floodgates for other students to emulate and grow dreadlocks under the guise of Rastafarianism?”

Constitutional and Legal Provisions

In paraphrasing Article 1(2) of the 1992 Constitution, the Constitution shall be the supreme law of Ghana, and any other law, order or rule to the extent of inconsistency shall be void.  The Constitution confers the rights to religion, education, and presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Using the case in question from Achimota School, Article 28(4) of the constitution of Ghana states that, “No child shall be deprived by any other person of medical treatment, education and any other social and economic benefits by reason only of religious or other beliefs“. This has been the most considered provision for which many think the school erred in asking the children to shave their hair before reporting to school as narrated by the victim.

One may also look at Articles 21(1)(c), 25(1), and 26(1) which all speak about the rights of children. What one should not lose sight in considering the rights of children is the definition given under Article 28(5) which connotes that a child is any person below eighteen years.

It is very appropriate for Article 17(1) and 17(2) to be stated to substantiate why all must be treated equally and not be discriminated against.

What we have not checked are the exceptions to enjoying the rights of the constitution in Article 14(1) especially for children under Article 14(1)(e) when seeking education or their welfare.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) is one of the agencies mandated under the Education ACT to provide the guidelines by which schools at all levels are to operate. The GES has set a unified code of discipline for all second cycle institutions which are used in providing discipline to students. These are to ensure decency and the correct etiquette in the various institutions.

Some of these rules as seen in the code of ethics of some schools;

1.  “All students shall wear the prescribed style of school uniform” and some even are specific to the exact attire and footwear the students are to use. For instance – “All students shall wear brown sandals with low heels”
2. “Use/possession of unapproved/unauthorized attire”
3. “Perforation of Ear – Lobes, Nose, Tattoos, Shaving of Eye Brows, etc”
4. “Leaving school without permission during the day”
5. “Indecent dressing e.g. provocative or shabby dressing – ‘Otto Pfister’, shirts not tucked in, etc.”
6. “Indecent hair cut”

It is clear that uniformity is intended to be achieved while respecting the constitutional provision without discrimination. These are the very codes of discipline that Achimota might have adopted and now being chastised only to be disowned by the developers of the unified code of discipline.

One of the things observed at the second cycle schools is to produce reasons for exemptions to certain rules and regulations. Some people are not to eat certain kind of food and even should not undertake manual labour due for health reasons. Those students mostly submit medical records and report to request special exemptions while at school. Was it important that GES should have allowed this to run its natural course than to yield to pressure which might open the pandora box?

Religion and Culture

As earlier mentioned, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides equal rights for all its citizens in Article 17(1). So everyone has the right to any religious practices and culture provided it does not act in contravention to the law.

Article 21(1)(c) states that All persons shall have the right to –  “freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice“.

From Wikipaedia, “Religion is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements“.

Others define it as “human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence.”

Authorities have found that “balancing respect for religious conviction and the values of liberal democracy is a daunting challenge for judges and lawmakers”. Who defines what an acceptable religion is, remains a problem. Mind you, it might not have to be a group of people but an individual can define his supernatural belief.

But there is the need to make a trade-in knowing where some rights will end in order to make peace. Article 14(1)(e) in the wisdom of the framers of the constitution was to help in achieving this balance. Consciously, one should know that there are circumstances when your liberty could be limited.

All religions have identities that if allowed to practice to the letter, no institution can accommodate all.

Rastafarians

Rastafari, also known as Rastafarianism is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s.

Rastas accord Haile Selassie as the Second Coming of Jesus and Jah incarnate, while others see him as a human prophet who fully recognized Jah’s presence in every individual. Communal meetings are known as “groundations”, and are typified by music, chanting, discussions, and the smoking of cannabis, the latter regarded as a sacrament with beneficial properties. Rastas emphasize wearing their hair in dreadlocks. Rastas come from various ethnicities, although the majority are of black African descent and some groups accept only black members.

Rastafari has continuously changed and developed, with significant doctrinal variation existing among practitioners depending on the group to which they belong. It is thus difficult to make broad generalizations about the movement without obscuring the complexities within it.

The conviction that Rastafari has no dogma “is so strong that it has itself become something of a dogma”. To their faith in Jah, while he was emperor, many Jamaican Rastas professed the belief that Haile Selassie would never die.^[86] The 1974 overthrow of Haile Selassie by the military Derg and his subsequent death in 1975 resulted in a crisis of faith for many practitioners.

The principal ritual of Rastafari is the smoking of ganja, also known as marijuana or cannabis which is considered a sacrament. They claim that it cultivates a form of personal introspection that allows smokers to discover their inner divinity.

Rastas believe that dreadlocks are promoted in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Numbers, and regard them as a symbol of strength linked to the hair of the Biblical figure of Samson. They argue that their dreadlocks mark a covenant that they have made with Jah, and reflect their commitment to the idea of ‘naturalness.

Rastas differ on whether they regard dreadlocks as compulsory for practicing the religion. The wearing of hair as dreadlocks emerged as a Rasta practice in the 1940s; there were debates within the movement as to whether dreadlocks should be worn or not, with proponents of the style becoming dominant.

In various countries, Rastas have since won legal battles ensuring their right to wear dreadlocks: in 2020, for instance, the High Court of Malawi ruled that all public schools must allow their students to wear dreadlocks. Meanwhile, a ruling by the Supreme Court of Jamaica allows a High School to ban dreadlocks for students in school.

Institutional Principles

It is clear from the Constitution and the codes from the GES that a healthy environment to promote learning must be consciously created and guided. The minimum is expected to be present in all schools. It is also expected that some of these institutions might raise the bar still within the remit of the laws. If everything is allowed without limited liberties, we may run down our institutions in the name of rights and liberties.

How can one deny any child who wants to wear permed hair? Who wants to keep bushy hair, grown fingernails, etc?

As funny as it may be, someone has indicated that his child who is fetish will be in a second cycle in the next academic year and will be wearing his mpesempese (rasta). 

Similar cases and situations

Refusing to hire someone who has dreadlocks is legal, thanks to a recent ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had filed a lawsuit against Catastrophe Management Solutions of Mobile, Alabama for rescinding a job offer to Chastity Jones because of her dreadlocked hairstyle. The 11^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the EEOC lawsuit. (March 2019)

A federal judge has prevented a Houston-area school district from enforcing a dress code policy that states that male students must keep their hair ear-length or shorter. Earlier this year, that policy spurred national attention and outrage after it was used to punish two students who wore their hair in dreadlocks. (August 2020)