A Sydney teenager has filed a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission after he was banned from attending his coming school formal because he wore a scarf with the keffiyeh pattern to his graduation ceremony.
The teenager, who requested not to be identified, said staff members accused him of making a political statement and prevented him from posing with friends and a senior staff member for a group photograph while he wore his scarf.
The 17-year-old said his older sister handed him the garment as he waited to receive his graduation certificate so he could wear the symbol of his Palestinian heritage on the most important day of his schooling life.
But when the teenager returned to his seat, staff members approached him twice and told him to hand over his scarf.
Two weeks later, the teenager was called to a senior staff member’s office and told that he was not permitted to attend his year 12 formal – to be held next Thursday, November 28 – as a result of his decision to wear the scarf.
Bringing attention to world events is not a problem but that is not the place for it. Schools want to be as partisan as possible and allowing kids to wear symbols of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds can make the look partial. Another reason is that these symbols have different meanings to different people. I love the eureka flag as a symbol of Victorians rising up against against injustice, unfortunately in the public eye this symbol has become synonymous with racism and hatred. This double/multiple definition means that school can’t look impartial if there are students displaying the symbol.