Policy or colonial hangover: Why are we still forcing female students to shave their hair in 2023?

In the video, the girls were waiting in line to get a shave, seemingly having no other option but to comply.

"Welcome Kereri Girls, to the girls who are here for the admission process and you have long here, it is the school's policy that you get shaved," a man was heard in the background making announcements.

"To my left, there is a barber please proceed there to get assistance. Thank you."

This then begs the question; "When will these antiqued policies end?" Because, if my memory still serves me right, during my high school days shaving, and not just shaving but clean shaving, was mandatory because of three reasons; Uniformity among students, neatness - because somehow one looked 'like a thief' with inch-long hair, and to tame lice infestation in the institution.

We were all okay with all of that, at that time, but as years progress so must systems change. I mean, do we use smoke signals anymore to invite friends for a baby shower or a birthday party?

We can trace this practice back to colonial times when they used to force Africans to shave their heads as part of a humiliating ritual and strip them of their identity. Even the Mau Mau grew their hair as an act of rebellion and they paid with their lives when they were caught.

Before you stone me, I agree that you cannot take your child with a full head of hair to a school that demands all their learners look like a Kamiti prison veteran and demand you get special treatment. Here, you should take them to a different school with a different system, where shaving is not mandatory. Schools have their own policies and they must be obeyed.

But while the policy remains as policy, can some policies become obsolete and primitive, like having to clean shave especially for female students? We all know it does not make one academically smarter or a genius, so what is it about?

There was a time FGM was a "policy", and so was wife inheritance but such practices have since been left behind and given girls and women the freedom to go about their lives freely.

Who decides what is "neat" and why? Now, I am not saying the girls can have any hairstyle they want or they can colour it to suit their different personalities, I am just sounding out that shaving clean like you are in Kamiti Prison is the way to go either.

It is primitive and backward. Back in the 90s, it would have flown undetected because of the times we were in but in 2023? The world has moved on from such archaic practices.

And this is seemingly not a common occurrence in Kenya but across the continent.

In 2016, Ugandan female students protested their schools’ no-hair policies noting that they apply only to black students, according to Women's Media Center (WMC).

Kyamulabe Margret Mugema, a middle school dean at one of the schools at the centre of the protest, defended the policy, saying “We let other races grow their hair because it’s in their culture not to cut off their hair, and we respect that.”

This is also proving to be a legacy adopted from the colonial era because Muslims, Hindus or students of a different race from black are not asked to shave.

Six years ago, a South African school was accused of racism for allegedly telling black girls to straighten their hair and not wear afros.

Pupils at Pretoria high school for girls protested being forced to chemically straighten their hair and not have afros that were deemed untidy while white students were left alone.

The school caved under pressure and repealed the policy. I am not in any way calling for protests but maybe the Education ministry should step in and let the girls wear their hair but within certain parameters.

WMC added that on January 10, 2019, Makeda Ndinda who had just joined Olympic High School in Nairobi County was sent back home because she was not Muslim yet she had dreadlocks that she had grown since her childhood - she was of the Rastafarian faith.

The deputy principal asked Ndinda to remove the headscarf she was wearing as only Muslim students were allowed to cover their hair. After she revealed her dreadlocks she was sent back home because her hairstyle seemed to be “distracting.”

If hair is really causing a "distraction" should it be mandatory for Muslim students to likewise cut their hair? Cutting hair does not in any way maim learning in an institution or change systems of learning.

Look at the professional field; years ago, it was unheard of that a lawyer, doctor, teacher or engineer would appear at work with "unofficial" hair but the tables seem to have taken a 360-degree turn.

I will juxtapose this to when Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament Peter Kaluma posted a Tweet attempting to condemn professionals with dreadlocks and irked professionals mostly with dreadlocks were adamant to prove him wrong.

Let us walk away from this buzz of making it mandatory to have students shave their hair and channel that same energy to better avenues.

The Kereri Girls of this nation might not change their shaving policies and it is okay if they remain relevant for a longer future but that has become of age. Let us embrace the changes that come with the 21st century.