New Military Rules On Hair Create Controversy

There are now more than 17,000 signatures on a new White House petition, calling on the Obama administration to reconsider new Army regulations about hair and grooming.

And the women in the Congressional Black Caucus have also sent a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, to the same effect.

Because the new rules, AR 670-1 tighten the restrictions on how women can braid and twist their hair, which has drawn criticism from some African-American women in the military.

NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates joins Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson to discuss the regulations.