The government of Peru will ban the use of makeup, nail polish, and dyed hair in public primary and secondary schools in the country, arguing that it aims to combat harassment and sexual violence in classrooms. The disciplinary regulation was presented last Monday (the 12th) by President Keiko Fujimori.
The rule will also require boys to wear short hair, and set guidelines for the length of school uniform skirts.
“Makeup, painted nails, excessively long and dyed hair will not be allowed,” said the Peruvian Minister of Education, José Antonio Chang. According to him, school skirts should also have an “appropriate length.”
Fujimori announced the package during a visit to a school in the outskirts of Lima. “Order must not prevail only on the streets, but also return to our schools, to our classrooms,” she said. “There are limits, there are rights, but also obligations. Boys must wear short hair. It is strictly forbidden to dye hair or wear makeup,” the leader added.
The regulation also reinstates disciplinary grades, authorizes the expulsion of students for more serious infractions, and bans cellphones in the classroom, except with the teacher’s permission. The measure mirrors in the school environment the Peruvian government’s zero-tolerance policy toward crime.
Education Ministry figures indicate that, from January to August 2026, the official SíseVe platform received more than 11,700 reports of school violence, 2,059 of them of sexual violence.
According to Peruvian feminist organizations, Fujimori’s government’s premise to tackle the problem is misguided. The Flora Tristán Women’s Center, for example, pointed out that controlling aspects such as hair or makeup “does not prevent sexual assaults” nor other forms of school violence.
The text will still be published in the official gazette El Peruano and will remain open to objections and criticisms for 30 days, until it can take effect. The Fujimori government’s idea is that the provision would take effect by the end of the year.
