Stupidity Alert! Schools Should Not Force Girls to Wear Skirts – It Discriminates Against Transsexuals, Warns Watchdog
Photograph: Mail On Sunday
MAIL ONLINE: For generations, the skirt has been an integral part of a girl's school uniform.

But the Government's human rights watchdog says schools who force girls to wear skirts may be breaking the law because the policy discriminates against transsexuals.

Official guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission warns schools that the dress code may breach the rights of girls who feel compelled to live as boys.

In a 68-page report on the human rights of transsexuals, the watchdog says that 'requiring pupils to wear gender-specific clothes is potentially unlawful'.

It says that research conducted for its report found that 'pupils born female with gender dysphoria experienced great discomfort being forced to wear stereotypical girls’ clothes — for example a skirt'. >>> Artheur Martin | Sunday, February 21, 2010

Saudi Arabia to Regulate Young Girls' Marriages
GLOBEANDMAIL: RIYADH — Saudi Arabia plans to regulate the marriages of young girls, its justice minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday, after a court refused to nullify the marriage of an 8-year-old to a man 50 years her senior.

The Justice Ministry aims “to put an end to arbitrariness by parents and guardians in marrying off minor girls,” Justice Minister Mohamed al-Issa told al-Watan newspaper, partly owned by members of the royal family.

Saudi Arabia is a patriarchal society that applies an austere form of Sunni Islam that bans unrelated men and women from mixing and gives fathers the right to wed their sons and daughters to whoever they deem fit.

The minister's comments suggested the practice of marrying off young girls would not be abolished. The regulations will seek to “preserve the rights, fending off blights to end the negative aspects of underage girls' marriage,” he said. >>> Reuters | Tuesday, April 14, 2009