Sarees Not Allowed At School Event Due To Hot Weather
For cheongsam, the school’s guideline indicated that students must wear leggings or slacks.
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Schools have been known to have their questionable rules from time to time in the guise of maintaining discipline and modesty.
The latest questionable rule from an all-girls school was to prevent students from wearing a saree at their school event.
Facebook user Preeta Samarasan was recently sent a message from a parent who received a guideline for a school’s upcoming Teacher’s Day and Hari Raya celebrations.
1/2 Guidelines from SM Convent Ipoh for their upcoming Teacher's Day/Hari Raya (Eid) celebrations. Ethnic clothing welcome, EXCEPT FOR SAREES, "due to the heat." But of course. Everyone knows the saree was invented for Nordic climes. pic.twitter.com/WvlHPJOb5P
— Preeta Samarasan (@PSamarasan) May 15, 2023
The guideline stated that students were welcome to wear their ethnic clothing as long as the length falls below the knee and students wear leggings or slacks underneath.
However, the same conditions do not apply to sarees and wearing sarees were banned altogether “due to the hot weather.”
Preeta then pointed out the contradictions in the guideline.
She said if the heat was really the issue, the school wouldn’t ask their students to wear extra leggings or slacks under their traditional costumes.
She added that clothes such as the tudung, hijab, robes (jubah), and long skirts wouldn’t make the cut either.
In addition, Preeta said the saree welcomes all female bodies no matter the size. She also said sexualising girls at such an age by dividing what’s appropriate or modest based on a particular standard or religious value is unbecoming in an all-girls school.
Other saree controversies
It’s not the first time the saree attire has garnered controversy in school and work settings.
Last year, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) treaded hot waters after it issued its dress code guideline for its 50th convocation ceremony.
In the guideline, the saree and cheongsam were listed in the prohibited category together with a short-sleeved blouse paired with a knee-length pencil skirt.
This prompted many to assume that the university prohibited the students from wearing these traditional attires to their convocation ceremony.
Following criticisms, UKM took down the guideline and issued a new one sans pictures.
READ MORE: UKM Takes Down Dress Code Poster After Social Media Outrage
In 2017, another school banned students from wearing sarees at its Aidilfitri gathering in school.
The school allegedly banned the sarees after students made fun of the attire at the school’s Aidilfitri celebration the year before, Free Malaysia Today reported.
Some students apparently didn’t understand that it was a traditional dress and the teachers had to explain the situation.
In addition, the school felt it wasn’t suitable for students to bare their bellies while wearing sarees so they decided to ban it for the upcoming gathering.
The school has since seen their mistakes and allowed the students to wear sarees if they chose to do so.
In 2016, the Ipoh City Council’s invitation card drew criticisms when it seemingly banned the wearing of sarees to its Aidilfitri gathering.
The council apologised and explained that the words were misinterpreted. The invite simply meant guests could wear sarees, office wear or appropriate clothing to the event.
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