Many strands, one plait

HAIR has always been political. Who could forget apartheid’s grotesque “pencil test” in which said object pushed through hair would determine whether somebody was white, coloured or black? The person subjected to the test either “passed” or “failed”.

When slavery was abolished in the US in 1865, many black people felt pressure to fit in with mainstream white society. Hair became a feature of this and the practice of hair smoothing and straightening took off. Incidentally, Guinness World Records recorded black entrepreneur Madam CJ Walker, who manufactured hair products for the African-American market, as the first self-made millionairess in the US.

The rise of the US civil rights movement in the ’60s was symbolised by the Afro. Natural hair became the vogue, a symbol of rebellion and pride. “Black is Beautiful” became a popular mantra.

When black pupils at one of South Africa’s top government schools protested against its hair rules this week, the issue was always going to be about much more than hair. On Monday pupils spoke out against their code of conduct, which reportedly instructed them to straighten their natural hair.

Soon #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh was trending on social media and the backlash against the school went viral.

Surely a reassessment of all school rules to emphasise inclusivity and respect is the sensible way forward.

But there is a positive aspect of this week’s big hair storm. Let’s recognise the reality that we are having these debates; that they are areas of contestation that are being voiced, once again by young South Africans. It is only by hearing each other that we will find each other.