South Africans have expressed outrage after black students at a girls' high school in the capital Pretoria claimed their institution has been allegedly forcing them to straighten their hair after banning certain natural hairstyles such as Afro.
So far, more than 4,000 people have signed an online petition, claiming the students have been subjected to racism.
“It is unacceptable that in a country in which black people are a demographic majority, we still today continue to be expected to pander to whiteness and to have it enforced through school policy," the petition sent to the country's education department read.
“They [students] are accused of conspiring when standing in groups and face other intolerable comments and actions," it said.
The students also claimed teachers had been allegedly telling them not to speak their African languages inside the school.
A social media hashtag #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirls has begun trending, with most comments blaming the school for the restrictions on students' hairstyles.
Advocate Thuli Madonsela, head of South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog, tweeted: “Pretoria Girls High saga is a good place to educate others about the alchemy of racism."
Nontz Mkhize, a student at University of Pretoria, tweeted: “We are still being colonized even post decolonization. My black is beautiful. My hair is beautiful."
The leftist opposition party, Economic Freedom Fighters, also condemned the school policy in a statement: “It is deeply saddening that 22 years into democracy, there are still institutions that seek to suppress blackness in its aesthetics and culture."
Gauteng Department of Education spokesman Oupa Bodibe confirmed to Anadolu Agency the government body had received the petition from the concerned students over the weekend.
Bodibe also said Gauteng's Education Minister Panyaza Lesufi visited the school on Monday.
“We just concluded a short meeting with the school management and later [we] will meet with the governing body," he said in a telephone interview on Monday.
“We hope to bring some levels of stability to this issue" the education spokesman said, adding that minister Lesufi had also met parents and students of the school on Monday.
Later, Nathi Mthethwa, the South African arts and culture minister, tweeted: "Schools should not be used as a platform to discourage students from embracing their African identity."
South Africa which emerged from decades of apartheid in 1994 has witnessed several of racist incidents this year.
