Utah girl suspended for Sikh nose pierce

BOUNTIFUL, Utah, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A Utah mom says she is upset her 12-year-old daughter was sent to detention because she pierced her nose to honor her Indian heritage.

Shirley Pabla told The Salt Lake Tribune she thinks there might have been an element of discrimination in the way her daughter, Suzannah, was treated by administrators at Bountiful Jr. High School.

"It's not just the nose ring. I'm starting to think it's because she's brown," Pabla said. "She's not a bad kid. She's not doing it to rebel."

Suzannah pierced her nose this month on the eve of India's Diwali holiday as a tribute to her father's Sikh family. The piercing, however, ran afoul of the school's ban on body piercings other than earrings and led to a brief suspension. School officials said they were enforcing the rules fairly and had determined the piercing was done for cultural reasons rather than religious practice.

Mrs. Pabla told the newspaper she did not have the money to challenge the detention in court and was unsure a challenge would be successful.