Melbourne schoolgirl wins right to wear trousers at school

Asha Cariss' mother's petition against the school dress code has now attracted over 16,000 signatures

Simone Cariss says her daughter wants to be able to be active and play football like the boys (Rex)

An Australian primary school has backed down over forcing its female pupils to wear dresses after one parent’s petition attracted nearly 9,000 signatures in three days.

Six-year-old Asha Cariss was told she could not wear trousers to attend Our Lady of the Nativity Primary School in Melbourne.

The Catholic school told her mother Simone she had to wear a dress in the summer and a tunic and stockings in the winter.

But following the launch of the petition by Ms Cariss - which has now attracted over 16,000 signatures - the school said it would review its uniform policy and Asha is allowed to wear trousers until a final decision is made.

Writing on the Change.org petition, Ms Cariss said: “My daughter, like many other girls, simply wants the choice to wear pants like half of her peers, with the warmth and freedom to be active at school and travelling to/from school.

“She constantly asks ‘why can't I wear pants like the boys?’

“'Because you're a girl' is not something I am prepared to say to my six-year-old daughter.

“A daughter who I have raised to believe she can do and conquer anything, regardless of her gender, and that she can like what she wants to like and not what gender stereotypes dictate she should like”.

She said the policy discriminates against girls like her daughter who want to play football with the boys as trousers and shorts make it far easier for boys to be active.

She also highlighted a new scheme which had been launched by the national Australian government to encourage girls to be more active.

Research recently revealed Australian girls are only half as active as boys by the time they reach puberty.

When the review was announced, Ms Cariss said her daughter would be thrilled to hear the news but said she still wanted to see the rules changed across the board.

She told The Age: “There should be choice for girls to wear pants at all schools.

“I think it's important that schools are as gender neutral as possible”.

The school said there had never been a blanket policy against girls wearing trousers but admitted this had been poorly communicated, Nine News reports.

State Education minister, James Merlino said: "It's 2016, my view and I think the view of most Victorians is if a student wants to wear pants to school, they should be able to wear pants to school.

"In the Catholic system, these are local decisions that Catholic schools make, but for government schools, government school councils are advised to develop school dress requirements that are similar for both sexes."