Teen Sues Osaka Government for $19,000 After Forcing Her to Dye Her Natural Brown Hair to Black

Multiple applications of the chemicals for the dye had caused a severe reaction on her scalp, giving her rashes as well as damaged hair, according to Japan Times. The student, who is left unnamed because she is still considered as a minor in the country, is looking to sue the Osaka government for 2.2 million yen ($19,300) for the damages.

The mother already informed Kaifukan School in Habikino city before the enrollment that her daughter has a naturally brown hair. However, the educators continued to stick by their rule. The daughter was then forced to make a decision: “either dye the hair black or quit school,” the lawsuit stated.

The teenager reportedly stopped attending her school since September 2016. According to her lawyer, she is still being considered as a student in the school but her name doesn’t appear in any of the classrooms and her seat has been removed.

Japanese schools are extremely strict when rules are concerned. In fact, most schools in the country do not encourage its students to change their physical appearance – this must be followed strictly no matter what. Changing how they look like wearing make-up, dying their hair to even wearing colored contact lenses and tweezing their eyebrows/eyelashes are strictly forbidden.

Both the school and the woman in question have yet to release any comment to the media regarding the matter, said on the report.

Featured image via Wikimedia Commons / David Monniaux (CC BY-SA 3.0)