Kuala Lumpur - Both
male and female students will be allowed to wear skirts at a
school in Taiwan after it announced plans to drop
gender-specific uniforms on Wednesday, a move LGBT+ campaigners
said was a boost for gender equality.
The change, a rare move in Asia where traditional values
often prevail, came after male students and teachers at Banqiao
Senior High School near Taipei donned skirts in May during a
week-long campaign seeking to break down gender stereotypes.
The school's decision is seen as reinforcing the self-ruled
island's reputation as a beacon of liberalism in Asia, which
became the first place in the region to legalise same-sex
marriage in May.
Under the current guidelines, male students are required to
wear trousers and skirts for female students, but the new dress
code - to take effect in the new academic year from August 30 -
will remove any mention of specific gender.
"It is to boost the students' autonomy in choosing their
uniforms while respecting their rights," the Banqiao Senior High
School said.
The school, which is located in New Taipei City, just
outside the capital, has over 2 000 students aged between 16 and
18.
Taiwanese education ministry officials were quoted in local
media as welcoming the school's decision.
"This is a progressive step that embraces diversity," said
Du Sih-cheng, the policy advocacy director at the Taiwan Tongzhi
Hotline Association, a non-profit that campaigns for LGBT+
rights.
"It will especially give transgender teenagers the freedom
to choose what they want to wear in schools," he said by phone
from Taipei, urging more schools to follow suit.
A global campaign to push for gender-neutral school uniforms
has gained traction in recent months.
Mexico City's mayor last month announced that students can
decide whether to wear skirts or trousers to school, stirring a
controversy in the socially conservative predominantly Catholic
country.
In Wales, the government said this month that it would no
longer have separate uniform codes for boys and girls under a
new policy due to come into force from September 1.