Girl Barred From Classes For Wearing Religious Bracelet

Some learning institutions put up anti-jewelry policies. Take Aberdare Girls School’s action on fourteen-year old sarika Watkins who got caught violating it and was isolated from her fellow classmates during class hours when she refused to remove her religious bracelet. She was taught in a different room, by a different teacher.
Watkins was wearing a kara, which is a thin steel or iron bangle. It is a religious bracelet worn by the followers of Sikhism, one of the five kakars or the 5Ks, external articles of faith, that defines a sikh as bestowed to their religion. The kara was founded by the tenth Sikh guru Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi Amrit sanskar in 1969. Gobind Singh Jisaid:

"He does not recognize anyone else except One Lord, not even the bestowal of charities, performance of merciful acts, austerities and restraint on pilgrim-stations; the perfect light of the Lord illuminates his heart, then consider him as the immaculate Khalsa."

The purpose of this religious bracelet is to constantly remind the Sikh disciple to do God’s work, that he or she must do righteous and true deeds, keeping with the words given by the guru. The kara, a symbol of unbreakable attachment to God has a circle shape, meaning , no beginning and no end like God’s eternal nature. It also comes in various forms and sizes, from battle field types, sharp edges, spikes and many more. Sometimes it is used in self-defense like a knuckle duster. In Punjab, it is used not only as a religious bracelet but as an instrument of settling a dispute in iron fist fighting or Loh Mushti,a life-threatening Sikh martial art of Shastar Vidiya that requires fighting without weapons. Loh Mushti is a type of boxing, yet steel or iron kara bracelets are used instead of gloves.

Sarika’s case was brought to court. As a result, a judge from the High Court ruling said the school failed to promote equality in dealing with the student, who must be not deprived of attending her own classes , with her religious bracelet upon the beginning of the new academic year. The court said wearing the religious bracelet is a legitimate expression of Sikh faith.

In a statement she read outside court, Sarika indicated how happy she was that no one else will go through what she and her family have been through. Now she is completely free to wear her religious bracelet in school.

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