BAD Hair Uprooted in Kigali: What Rwanda Taught Us About African Hair and Colonial History

Celebrating International Women’s Day with the women of Rwanda was a deeply revealing experience. For the first time on the continent, I got a chance to dive deeper into the unexplored connection of our entangled roots.

Surrounded by beautiful women and men from different backgrounds, different countries, and different continents, the stage was set for the BAD Hair Uprooted Dinner & Dialogue at restaurant La Creola, overlooking the hills of Kimihurura.

Her Excellency Prof. Charity Manyeruke, Ambassador of Zimbabe sharing her hair story. Click for the complete gallery.

From Her Excellency Prof. Charity Manyeruke, Ambassador of Zimbabwe, to the African American couple who founded the A-and-A Foundation, from my "maties" from Suriname to my Rwandan connections — the room was beautifully, unexpectedly diverse. It was a mix that made the dialogue engaging, eye-opening, and powerful.

You see, our hair stories are not that different. We may come from different continents and have grown up in different countries, but our roots — our coils, our follicles — are entangled in the same history. One chapter is called slavery; the other is called colonization. Different experiences, but both originated from the same source. That is the connection the BAD Hair Uprooted Dinner & Dialogue set out to explore.

Men and women from all backgrounds joining in. Click for the complete gallery.

Redefining "Bad Hair": The Americas vs. Africa

At first glance, I noticed that “bad hair” clearly does not equal natural hair here the way it often does in the Caribbean and the Americas. Watching women pick out their beautiful short naturals on the street after a moto ride is simply marvelous. Short, dense Afros are such a common sight that, on the surface, one would find it hard to believe that natural hair is even an issue here.

Where natural hair is just called "bad hair" in the Caribbean and the Americas, Rwandans told me that bad hair in Rwanda means hair that is unkempt, dirty, or poorly maintained. That is a big difference. However, when I started to engage in conversations with women, a whole new chapter of the unknown started to unfold.

From personal experiences to mothers sharing how they deal with their daughter's hair. Click for the complete gallery.

The Legacy of Colonization and African Hair Standards

One of the most common practices I learned about was girls shaving their heads when starting school. This is so normalized that people simply consider it a part of the culture. However, digging deeper revealed that history tells a different story: shaving heads only began during colonial rule.

Before European standards were forced upon African societies, Rwandans wore elaborate hairstyles with pride. Getting your hair done was a bonding experience, and traditional hairstyles were intricate, symbolic, and culturally significant. Shaved heads were far from the norm.

The practice only emerged during the colonial era, when colonizers started labeling African hair as unclean, uncivilized, and distracting. After gaining independence, many African countries adopted these grooming rules that required school girls to shave their heads in the name of uniformity, cleanliness, and discipline. This added a whole new dimension to my documentary, BAD Hair Uprooted: The Untold History of Black Follicles.

The Hidden Message Behind the Shaved Head

Conversations with local Rwandan women revealed that, as little girls, most women didn’t like to have their heads shaved. Some of them cried because they were used to proudly wearing beautiful styles before school age. Sometimes styles were even embellished with beads, which made them love their growing hair even more—and then, all of a sudden, they had to shave off their adorable long tresses to start an education.

Why? Because of uniformity, cleanliness, and because natural hair is considered a distraction. They are told that girls need to focus on their education.

There were also women who expressed that they were okay with these rules. These women understand the rules because taking care of natural hair takes time, and they believe styling hair before school would take too much time anyway.

The beautiful Delah Dube shared her hair story and brought us poetry - @delahdubemusic. Click for the complete gallery.

Understanding Hair Trauma and the "Exception Rule"

As painful as it was to listen to these stories, I kept my own hair experience in check, not wanting to project my own traumas onto them. As I continued listening, I started asking questions: So, did everyone have to shave their hair? In public schools, it is almost always a requirement, but in private schools, it is a choice. What came after not only baffled me but hurt me at my core: Girls with curly hair (mixed kids) and Indian girls with long, straight, flowing hair didn’t have to shave their hair. They were an exception. No one could truly answer why that was, but they were all okay with it because it was the norm. When one of the women I interviewed defended the rule saying, “well, their hair is different,” my nervous system immediately responded. It was the unspoken admission that "different" meant "better" or "good hair."

Why Are Black Girls Required to Shave Their Heads?

No one even questioned why only little Black girls were required to shave their heads while girls with other textures were allowed to grow theirs.

The notion that natural African hair is unclean, a distraction, or not worth the time has been embedded and normalized for generations. In the Western world, African hair is often mentioned in etiquette only to exclude it. From dreadlocks to Afros, natural hairstyles are labeled unprofessional or not "neat" enough for schools and workplaces.

A New Era for Rwandan Hair and Education

The timing couldn’t be better for BAD Hair Uprooted to celebrate the Minister of Education, Hon. Joseph Nsengimana, lifting the rules that require girls to shave their hair.

As Rwanda enters a new era, it sets an example for the rest of Africa to explore ancient hair care and styling practices. I asked all attendees to start thinking about African hair differently—not as a distraction or a burden, but as a beautiful attraction that is worth the time.

From Prof. Charity Manyeruke, who shared her personal hair story, to Mr. Wilson, an African American man who expressed his love for natural hair, I am thankful for all the guests who showed up. I already look forward to the next Dialogue.

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For more info or to support, download BAD Hair Uprooted, the Untold History of Black Follicles.