Rastafari community calls for written national policy on free display of locs

 

The Rastafarian community is furthering calls for the establishment of a written national policy which includes the free display of locs in the workplace.

 

This comes after the Education Ministry announced that Rastafarian students will no longer be required to wear tams or head coverings in schools in an effort to end discrimination against the group.

 

The policy is pending implementation in schools.

 

Pamela Williams, a member of the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society, says while Rastafarians welcome the move, the government must go a step further and commit to an overhaul of existing policy procedures.

 

She says too often, workers are required to conform to repressive corporate grooming policies. 

 

"We have been pressing the government to develop a written policy in respect of the wearing of locs and beard at the workplace and in schools. So the Ministry of Education has made the announcement. I hope a new administration would not in any way change that announcement, so that is why we have been asking for a written policy on those issues" she insisted. 

 

Ms. Williams also called for the government to beef up sanctions against institutions that victimise people who choose to wear locs.

 

"They could be required to pay some money to the victims to compensate for the trauma that they have put them through. And as I say, there needs to be an agency to which the persons can go to report instances of victimisation in that regard. What we are requesting is a special court.

 

"Just like we have traffic court where traffic offences are dealt with promptly and quickly, we want to have some kind of system that does not have to go through the regular court system and for the perpetrators to know that, so that they will think twice before they take that kind of action," she proposed. 

 

The Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society has been working through negotiations with the government on community reparations for survivors of the 1963 Coral Gardens incident which saw a brutal government sanctioned repression of Rastas.