I have a problem with African girls and boys shaving their hair for school. There's a culture all around Africa where students are forced to give up their identity in order to look “clean.” Where does this stem from? Honestly to me, it stems from colonization and a lack of identity. I truly believe hair can be empowering. I started caring about this issue because I realized most African girls do not like their hair texture. Once an African girl becomes of age and is allowed to do her hair, what is promoted to her at large is perming her hair or wearing a wig. There is no culture that tells you to embrace what naturally grows out from your scalp. Not only does that take away from your self-confidence as a young girl but it further emphasizes the Europeanization of Africa.

I often hear I don't know how to handle my hair from a lot of African girls. That might be true, but a lot of times the undertones to those words are “I don't like my hair texture and I can’t manipulate it”. When the natural hair movement began, there was some excitement because black women were finally going to be allowed to exist. What happened was the opposite. A certain texture was pushed and once again the texture that represented most African nations was ostracized. Those YouTube videos became more about how to change your texture and not how to do the hair the way it grows out of your scalp.

Once an African girl shaves her head the hate begins in my opinion. During colonization and slavery in the 1500s, enslaved people's heads would be shaved as a form of humiliation. Each African nation has a distinct hairstyle, and they represent different statuses in society. Till today our healthy hairstyles are looked at as works of art by historians. Those women did not see themselves as ugly nor would they have ever questioned what naturally grew out of their heads. Rather they adorned their hair with beautiful pieces that represented who they were and what tribe they came from. In the Americas, enslaved women were forced to wrap their hair, and states like Louisiana imposed the Tignon Laws. This was done to hide the beauty of black women and further humiliate them.

If these children were given a chance to learn how to take care of their hair from a young age and grow their hair out beautifully, with products provided for them. It will do one of two things, strengthen the African identity and also give a lot of little black girls confidence. I'm aware that in some cultures shaving your head is a big part of ceremonies and traditions. But that is not the case we are witnessing on the continent. Hair distracts is the narrative pushed. Why is it that other races can have their hair out and beautify themselves and still be in school? Hair does not distract, it is just a culture that has been adopted through trauma.

As a Nigerian oftentimes I look back at pictures pre-colonial era and I see the beautiful hairstyles that were available at that time. Did those people not have an education system? They did. Were they distracted by their hair? They were not. Was it a chore to take care of their hair? No.  None of these dishonest words would be used today, if not for our sad history. Hair has become so political and we as Africans know that our hair is seen as unprofessional. In hindsight shaving our hair to attend school is saying, “in order to be in this kind of establishment you have to look kept.” Allowing little black girls to learn how to take care of their hair without manipulation is elite. We are girls and we should take pride in our beauty at a young age, our African beauty. It is very important for a developing mind in my opinion.

I am strongly against black girls solely admiring what is outside of them. Have you seen black women when their hair is taken care of, even when it's short? Nothing beats the volume, length, and fullness. It is remarkable! I personally think in our education system in Africa, hair management should be taught from a young age, and allowed to be a norm. I should be walking around schools and seeing little girls with full heads of hair. In all of their different textures, that they grew naturally from their scalps. Whether it's down their back or by their ears. No little girl should have a barber shop trip unless she wants to.

 These kinds of practices go hand in hand with breast ironing, which is the practice when a girl’s chest area is flattened. The idea is to not attract suiters too early or get sexual attention. This practice also stems from slavery. I can also talk about the sexualization of little girls in schools, and why they shave their hair to “protect” them. But that can be for another day. I think it's time Africa sits down and understands itself. What its true culture is, versus what we had to adopt so we could survive. Hair is a big part of healing.

Mary