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Africa | Education | Racism
Colonizers forced African girls to cut their hair to attend school — why are African governments still enforcing this racist practice?
It’s 2023 and many countries in Africa force girls to cut their hair
Friday, 20 January 2023
By: TB Obwoge
When I was in elementary school I met a girl named Dayo, we called her that but it wasn’t her real name. People didn’t find out unless they spoke to her in depth. One day I found myself within her and she within me.
Dayo was a small, quiet Nigerian girl, most of the Black American class didn’t know anything about Nigeria at the time. All they knew was that Dayo wore a knit, winter cap all day, every single day.
Black boys would mock her for her hat, some even asking since hats were not allowed in the building why she was permitted to wear one. On a day in the spring a boy pulled her hat off, exposing the fact that Dayo’s hair was cut very short.
A crucial part of protesting these “no-hair” rules, however, is that these policies are the legacy of colonialism and, as such, still perpetuate racism. In precolonial times, Christian missionaries demanded that girls who attended…
