Harsanjog Singh (R) with his parents and sister
It all began four months ago
with a campaign started by a handful of Sikh families associated with Good News
Lutheran College in Melbourne’s western suburb of Tarneit.
It has culminated with this Christian denominational school
accepting and implementing a request made by Sikh families to allow their
children to wear a patka (headwear worn
usually by young Sikh boys) or a turban as part of the school uniform.
School
principal Fiona McAullife, considered instrumental in this change.She
said “through diversity we can express the totality of God’s human
creation and be blessed with an assortment of perspectives and gifts.”
“Not long after I arrived at Good News Lutheran College at the
start of this year, it was brought to my attention that this was a problem.
After some research, I discovered that this had been a problem for a number of
years and that our uniform guidelines did not mention headwear. It seemed that
there was an ‘understanding’ rather than a direct instruction that the patka was
not part of the uniform,” says the school principal.
“I was surprised by this understanding as it is not in line with
our Lutheran beliefs around inclusivity. It was discussed at an Executive
Leadership meeting with all members in agreement that we should include a
statement: ‘Hair accessories or religious/cultural headwear (e.g. turbans, patkas)
are allowed in College colours (navy, teal, white and black) with no other
decoration’,” Ms McAuliffe adds.
Ms
McAuliffe says that all 44 of her school’s Sikh boys will have the freedom to
wear a patka or
a turban in school colours.
“I’m feeling very proud now that I can wear my patka.
I’ll tell my friends from other cultures that this is the Sikh culture, that
all religions are one,” says the 10-year-old .
His
mother says she was optimistic about a positive outcome because she has
"seen Australia change" during the past 10 years that the family has
been living here.
Dr.Gurdeep Kaur
Associate Professor
Sri Guru Nank Dev Khalsa College
University of Delhi
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