Evaluating access to education for Rastafarian children and Muslim girls in Malawi

Over the years, there has been a challenge for Rastafarian and female Muslim children to access education in public schools as well as Christian-aided or assisted schools in Malawi. This challenge has been due to a policy requiring all students or learners in public schools to have short and combed hair. There is a belief that the policy, dating back to Malawi's one-party era, targeted Rastafarian children and female Muslim children due to their maintaining dreadlocks or long hair and wearing of the hijab, respectively. In challenging this infringement of access to education by Rastafarian and female Muslim students in Malawi, the country has witnessed litigation, circulars and memoranda of understanding. This article examines the effectiveness of the adopted approaches in addressing access to education for Rastafarian and female Muslim children. In so doing, the author presents the applicable legal and policy framework. The article subsequently looks at how access to education challenges have been addressed in relation to female Muslim students and Rastafarian children, respectively. Before the conclusion, there is a brief discussion of the justiciability of the right to education in Malawi and related issues of the role of the courts and other stakeholders. Based on this analysis and examination, the article concludes that much as the adopted approaches have played a crucial role in ensuring access to education for Rastafarian and female Muslim children, there is a need for more action in terms of legislative reform as well as dissemination and public awareness, in particular regarding the recent High Court decision concerning Rastafarian children and their access to education. The article recommends further study on the issue of access to education in Malawi, especially on other aspects of education accessibility as well as dealing with other religious groups.