This week, the U.S Navy announced that it was
discharging Jessica Sims, an Africa American
woman who has been a sailor for 12-years, for
“failing to obey an order to cut off her natural
hairstyle.”
The military has been under scrutiny for
guidelines issued in March that critics
believe were discriminatory toward
African-American women. Those
regulations “specifically forbid several
hairstyles popular for black women who
keep their hair natural, including twists,
headbands, dreadlocks, or multiple braids
that are larger than a quarter-inch.” A
former U.S. Army Major, sharply criticized
the regulations, noting they targeted
“natural styles African American service
women have been wearing for years.”
Continue..
Sims had been wearing her hair in the same
way since 2005, without any apparent issues.
In response to the criticism, Secretary of
Defense Chuck Hagel ordered the regulations
to be relaxed earlier this month to “allow
female service members to have a wider range
of hairstyles.” But the Navy found that Sims
hair still violated their guidelines.
Sims rejected repeated calls from the Navy to
change her hair style, saying “I don’t think I
should be told that I have to straighten my
hair in order to be within what they think the
regulations are, and I don’t think I should have
to cover it up with a wig.”
The Navy said her hairstyle made it difficult for
her to wear a gas mask. Sims said that her
hair conformed to regulations requiring it
protrude less than two inches from her head
and that she “never had a problem wearing
safety helmets or gas masks.”
After her discharge, Sims had no regrets: “I still
stand by it. I would do it again if I had to.”
0 Yorumlar