Debate contribution: School Uniforms (Trousers) Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mrs Michelle Guy on 30 June 2026.

MLA: Mrs Michelle Guy
Party at the time: Alliance Party
Date: 30 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Committee Business
Heading: School Uniforms (Trousers) Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5653666

Text

I start by echoing the remarks of others by thanking the Bill team and all those who helped us to get to this position, including the Clerk's team and my Committee colleagues, including the Chair. If I had to explain to someone what the Bill is about, I could not use language any clearer than that used in the Bill. It would:
"Permit all pupils to wear trousers as part of their school uniform."
When I explain what the legislation would do, the reaction from people is almost always the same. They ask, "Are you seriously saying that, in 2026, girls can't wear trousers in school?". The answer is that they do not have that right. When people in my life, including constituents, who do not have a big interest in current affairs or politics hear that, they become angry. They cannot believe how backward a position that is, and they want to know why. The answer is very simple: the Education Minister, Paul Givan, is why. The Education Minister could easily have ensured that this was included in his statutory uniform guidelines, but, in his view, there was "a balance to be struck". Essentially, he was saying that we had to draw the line somewhere, and the automatic right of girls to be allowed to wear trousers is where that line has been drawn. Some will play down the issue and say that it is relevant in only a small number of schools. That may be true, but people should think about how that works in practice. If, in 2026, a young woman wants to wear trousers in school, given that she undoubtedly wears trousers in every other facet of her life, she has to ask permission. She will have to explain herself, perhaps having to disclose deeply personal or traumatic information. That sensitive information will almost certainly be shared with others, who will then determine whether it is a yes or a no. That is ridiculous, yet it happens in many schools. Shame on those schools and, indeed, any politician who endorses that approach. I refute entirely the suggestion that this is a small issue. Anyone on the Education Committee who heard the evidence presented to us by girls and women will know that this is an issue of safety, dignity, fairness, comfort and practicality. Young women told the Committee:
"Upskirting is a serious problem in Northern Ireland schools. Many girls feel that they may be less unsafe if they were given the option of wearing trousers. That should not be viewed as the solution to upskirting and sexual harassment, as more needs to be done to tackle those issues and to end violence against women and girls. However, it should absolutely be an option for girls to wear trousers if they choose."
In addition, they said:
"Having to wear skirts means that we cannot participate in activities in the same way as boys. We are less able to move freely for drama, dancing and sport",
and:
"We want to be able to play and dance freely at break time without our skirts going up. We should also be able to travel freely to school by bike or walking and not be worried about the cold or getting our skirts caught up in the bike."
Menstruation Matters, which engages with young women and girls, told the Committee:
"Some students mentioned how they feared having to wear a skirt in case of leakage and felt uncomfortable during GCSE and A-level examinations",
and:
"Students have reported missing school or going home early due to the discomfort caused by their uniform, with the fear of leakage always being the main issue while wearing skirts."
It can be seen from those quotes that the issue impacts on girls in a real and practical way. If they feel too uncomfortable to be in school, it is impacting on their access to education. If they hold back in PE or while playing at break or lunch, what does that say to them about how we value exercise and sport? The response to the Committee's survey on the Bill made it clear that people feel strongly about it. There were nearly 3,700 responses, over 98% of which supported the statement that all pupils should be allowed to wear trousers in school. The ask is minimal. Young people are not asking to be able to wear anything that they want to wear or to do away with school uniforms; they are asking for there to be an option to wear trousers in their school uniform policy. I question why that basic request from girls and young women is being denied or is deemed to be unimportant. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that some people — mainly men — still want to control what women wear. That control or exercise of power may be dressed up in the language of "tradition" or "ethos", but it comes down to control, and I find the fact that we are talking about young school girls in that context deeply unsettling. The Assembly should support the Bill.
Yes.
I take the Member's point. Ultimately, however, the person who could make the change is the Minister, and he has decided not to. Saying that schools have a choice or that they have autonomy does not absolve the Minister from his ultimately having responsibility to be able to make that change. He could do that with the stroke of a pen and has decided not to. Ultimately, that is the point. I simply do not accept that schools should have the power to prevent women from choosing to wear trousers.
The Assembly should support the Bill. I again ask the Minister to save us time by simply updating the statutory uniform guidelines. I find the DUP position of enabling the Bill to progress to Committee Stage while its Minister is against it to be quite bizarre. The DUP Members seem to know that this is the right thing to do for girls and women, but, for some reason, their Minister does not agree. I will finish by saying that I find it ridiculous and even insulting that this even has to be debated and that young women have had to campaign on the issue. They felt compelled to come to the Education Committee — a public forum — to outline their experiences. Despite how intelligent, articulate and compelling they have been in making their case, and despite overwhelming public support for the change, the Education Minister remains unmoved and more compelled by the case to control what young women wear than to give them a simple and uncontroversial choice. There is nothing controversial in the Bill. The only controversy is the fact that it is needed at all. Thank you.
Oh, Pat.
Absolutely not. There is no rational explanation, which is what you asked. With that, I will close my remarks. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

1,155 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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