Earlier this year, writer and broadcaster Emma Dabiri started a petition to amend the equality act to explicitly protect Afro hair. In The Hair Equality Report 2019, which highlights hair discrimination in UK schools, 16.6 per cent of parents said their children have had a bad or very bad experience with their Afro-textured hair and identity.
Dabiri wrote on an Instagram post: ‘I can’t believe it’s 2020 and we are actually campaigning to protect our children from being excluded from their schools for having Afro hair ! Like really ?! In addition to shaming children for being of African descendant and reinforcing the centuries old narrative that our hair is something to be ashamed of, excluding children from school can have other serious repercussions.’
‘According to Just For Kids Law In recent years, though, there has been a rise in the number of children being permanently excluded from school. These children often end up struggling to access the education they need to progress in their lives, and many end up stuck in Pupil Referral Units. These lack the educational standards of mainstream schools, and children there often fall prey to criminal exploitation and get funnelled into a life of crime. A petition is only one link in a chain but it’s something to mobilise around.’
Stand up and show your support by signing the petition at change.org
