MPF appeals to try to prohibit military schools from requiring haircuts and nail polish color

The Public Prosecutor's Office in Acre filed an appeal to try to prohibit military schools from demanding aesthetic standards from students, such as nail color and size and haircut.

It is common for these schools to have strict rules for the use of makeup, accessories, hairstyle, tattoos and even nail polish color.

The Federal Public Ministry argues that the demands are unrelated to the quality of teaching and violate freedom of expression and students' right to privacy.

The action was presented in July last year, after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) announced the end of the National Program for Civic-Military Schools, but failed in the first instance. The purpose of the appeal is to try to reverse the decision.

In September, judge Luzia Farias da Silva Mendonça, from the 2nd Federal Civil and Criminal Court of Acre, outright denied the loss. This means that, in a preliminary analysis, she saw no urgency in suspending the rules. The decision states that the change, with the school year underway, “would cause more harm to the school community than benefits”.

In its appeal, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Acre argues that the trial is urgent because it harms students from ethnic-racial, religious and gender minorities.

“There is a disproportionate impact of restrictions on black and brown people, people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ people, with serious institutional racism”, says Public Prosecutor Lucas Costa Almeida Dias, who signed the action.

The action was proposed by the Attorney General's Office in Acre, but has national scope, that is, the request is to suspend demands from military schools throughout the country.