Why do British women demand a ban on school uniforms in pornographic material?

Eileen and May, both 15 years old, belong to the small feminist book club at their school in the city of Bicester, which is located in the English county of Oxfordshire.

During a group discussion, club members learned that teenagers from other schools had tried to impose a ban on the sale of school uniforms in sex shops, as wearing clothing that mimics school uniforms is common in pornographic videos.

In an exclusive interview with Deutsche Welle DW, Aileen said, "We all agreed that we want to take a step further. We want to completely ban the use of school uniforms from the world of pornography." ولتسليط الضوء على هذه القضية، أطلقن الفتاتان عريضة للمطالبة بذلك.

The petition explained that many of Aileen and May's schoolmates had bad experiences because of wearing school uniforms, with some of them reporting being harassed since they were eleven years old. وتسببت الكثير من هذه التجارب في شعورهن بالخوف والخدل الشديد وانعدام الأمان.

In this regard, May said: “I do not wear the school uniform outside of school. I also do not like to wear it in public places.”

استطلاع: ثلث الطالبات أبلغن عن تعرضهن للتحرش

The two girls also based their petition on a survey conducted by the charitable organization Plan International in 2018. The results of the survey showed that 35 percent out of 1,004 participants (aged between 14 and 21 years) were exposed to unwanted sexual attention while wearing the uniform.

Also, 8% said that they were photographed by a stranger without their permission, or that someone took a picture from under their school skirt. This practice is known as "eskirting", which is photographing what is under a person's clothes without his knowledge or consent.

In this regard, May said: “Something that was supposed to remain pure, something that was supposed to symbolize the spirit of community, has lost its place in society.” She added: "Our perception of what school uniforms represent has been distorted by these disgusting media outlets."

Mandatory school uniform

وفي العديد من البلدان حول العالم، يتم توحيد الأزياء المدرسية. This type of clothing is supposed to help reduce the visibility of financial disparities, as well as reduce bullying and enhance the sense of belonging to the school community.

In the United Kingdom, school uniforms are compulsory in almost all schools, including pre-primary schools. This means that practically all children, between the ages of 4 and 16, wear it, and they cannot avoid unwanted glances outside of school.

"We simply want to stop anyone thinking about children and school uniforms in this way," May said. وواصلت:"إننا نأمل أن نتمكن بالفعل من إقرار هذا الحظر بموجب القانون".

From demands to law!

Although there is still a long way to go before reaching this goal, Eileen and May are optimistic. وبحسب أحدث الأرقام، فقد جمعت العريضة حوالي 27 ألف توقيع. Moreover, the petition received significant media attention thanks to an article published by the prestigious newspaper The Times.

May and Eileen now hope that Parliament will discuss the issue, and two MPs have already indicated their willingness to support them. However, the girls realize that some people believe the problem can be solved by lengthening school skirts.

In this regard, Aileen said: “I think this is wrong. We should not blame the victims, but rather we should hold those who think it is acceptable to sexualize the victims responsible.”

Translated into Arabic by: R.M