10-Year-Old Girl Stands Up For Women’s Rights And Fights School Board’s Ban On Leggings

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Times are changing, and outdated, chauvinistic thinking needs to change with it! A policy that unfairly affected young women in a school district is being fought by an unlikely source: a 10-year-old girl.

Outdated And Unfair

Falyn Handley is a 10-year-old girl that attends the fifth grade at Springdale Park Elementary School in Georgia, and she’s had enough of the double standards and unfair policies that limit women’s rights. The school district currently enforces a dated policy that bans female students from wearing any form of skin-tight clothing such as jeggings and leggings.

The reasoning behind that policy is particularly unsettling as it claims that clothing such as leggings is a “distraction” for other students. “I don’t like the policy because it shames girls,” Falyn shared. “I like wearing leggings. They’re affordable, comfortable and popular.

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She Has The Numbers To Support Her Argument

With more than 1,200 signatures on an online petition, Falyn has presented to the Atlanta Board of Education with a plea to update the dress code and remove inappropriate terminology like “distraction.”

“Girls should not be pulled out of class or embarrassed for wearing leggings, which is happening now,” Falyn revealed. “Boys and girls should be able to manage their ‘distractions’ and reactions. I am not a distraction and me wearing leggings is not a distraction.”

Falyn first decided to pursue this issue due to a friend at school telling her that she was called to the principal’s office for discipline because of the leggings she wore. The girl was told that she either had to get someone to bring her a change of clothes or wear men’s gym shorts back to the class which Falyn deemed unacceptable.

The School Board Responds

Fortunately, the school board is responsive to the suggested changes in dress code. “It’s been 10 years and a lot has changed,” said Eshe Collins, head of the policy committee at the school board. “We want to make our policy more inclusive of everyone.”

Collins shared that she also felt the code was outdated, and that the voice of Falyn and her fellow students has had a huge effect on the board’s thinking. Standing up for what’s right is something that people of all ages can do, and Falyn is a great reminder that the voice of the people can cause real change!