In observance of International Women’s Day (IWD), the Ministry of Education allowed schoolgirls and female teachers to wear any hairstyle they chose. This sparked debates about the policing of hair. Hair policies primarily affect those with kinky or curly hair. It is an extension of anti-Blackness. Who decided what was acceptable and unacceptable when it comes to hair? Why would any natural part of a human body be deemed unacceptable?
The theme for International Women’s Day was “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.”
The fact that there is still policing of women and girls’ hair in 2022 indicates that there is still oppression of how women express themselves. Yes, men are also affected by the issue of hair. We know men must keep their hair short to be allowed to serve in certain institutions or cannot wear dreadlocks or braids. I am not saying that people should not groom themselves, but even when hairstyles like braids and dreadlocks are groomed it is still policed and still often considered inappropriate.
Under the Ministry of Education’s IWD campaign #breakthebias and #breakthehairbias were themes. A report about the celebration of hair on the Department of Public Information website stated: “To celebrate International Women’s Day the Ministry of Education is relaxing the rules around what is considered “acceptable” hairstyle choices. Female teachers and pupils across the country are encouraged to celebrate hair freedom by wearing their loose unsecured hair, afros, braids, curls, whatever style, if any, that makes them feel most beautiful and confident. On March 8, let your hair down and out, express yourself, talk about women’s day and all the benefits of gender equality.”
Why are unsecured hair, afros, braids, and curls not acceptable hairstyles for school? Do these hairstyles hinder learning or somehow increase immorality? Why can’t women and girls wear hairstyles that make them feel most beautiful and confident every day without worrying about their hair being policed?
The fact that we are still policing hair in this so-called independent nation in 2022 is another indication of how bound we are by the colonial shackles. Nations such as Guyana, where the population is predominantly people of African and Asian descent, continue to uphold pre-Independence rules that sought to subjugate and demoralize them. European faces might not be on the ground keeping their foot on the necks of the children of those once enslaved and indentured but the seeds they planted were enough to mentally enslave several generations. The perpetuation of the European standard of beauty is still both blatant and subliminal.
Even though there is awareness and there are continued efforts to celebrate the beauty of all people, some of our people are so conditioned, shaped by massa’s racist ideologies about who we were, are and should be, that they refuse to abolish anti-progress, anti-pride, anti-cultural and anti-freedom laws that do not benefit them.
I am one of many women of African descent who as little girls were made to feel that the texture of our hair was not the beauty standard and had to be fixed to be considered acceptable. Many of us thought that straightening our hair would make it more beautiful. I am one of who was sometimes hesitant to wear an afro for fear that it would not be seen as beautiful, neat, or tidy or be mocked. We grew up hearing about “good” or “nice” hair and the fact that these terms are still a part of our vernacular is sad.
Are we concerned about the damage to girls’ self-esteem when they are told that wearing their hair how it naturally grows, or wearing it in certain styles is unacceptable or not neat or tidy? Is that empowerment? For years I have been asking how the natural texture or certain hairstyles affect the ability to learn? How does it measure the value of a person? How does it negatively affect the society?
Some argued that allowing children to wear their hair however they please can distract them from learning or distract other children. This kind of hogwash I cannot comprehend. Have we looked at countries where children are allowed to freely express themselves and seen evidence that their hair is a distraction and affects their ability to learn?
If children are pressured to straighten their hair or wear it in a particular style in the name of uniformity, is that not an unnecessary burden placed on them? Isn’t that more of a distraction to them? And again, are we not concerned about the damage to their self-esteem?
It was said that there needs to be consultations about changing the hair policies in schools. It is encouraging that the Education Minister thinks that there should be a change, but the fact that there needs to be consultation about what naturally grows out of a person’s head and how they style it, indicates that there is no guarantee that change is imminent. Some of the policy makers have taken the place of the colonizers and relish in it.
I wish more effort would go into policing the issues that are detrimental to society. Issues like rape, child abuse, gender-based violence and such. But perhaps these rules about hair and dress are connected to these social issues. When people are not allowed to freely express and are conditioned to keep up appearances, it affects every aspect of their lives. Women are trained that they must dress, style their hair, and act a certain way. So, we cannot be surprised by the way women are treated in this society and why some remain in abusive relationships or say nothing about the abuse they suffer? Children are also often discouraged from freely expressing themselves, so they often remain silent when they are harmed.
Here we have humans who will make more noise about keeping up appearances when this society is anything but proper or decent. Look at the stories in our newspapers every day that show the degeneracy in this country. Look at how women are harassed daily on the streets. Look at how abuse is prevalent. Look at the behaviour of some of the politicians and tell me that we really care about what is proper, decent, or righteous in this country.
The hypocrisy must stop. Hair has nothing to do with morality. Hairstyles do not affect one’s ability to learn. It has everything to do with one set of humans believing in the superiority of one set of human features. It is prejudice, it is anti-progress, and about keeping up appearances. It is us giving honour to the colonizers who made us doubt ourselves with their racist policies and us accepting that they were right.
