Black hair has long been a contentious issue in Guyana. While we can frequently hear that hair is just hair, hair and texture discrimination is a very real issue that plagues Black persons, especially Black women and girls.
The conversation regarding the restrictions that are often placed on Black hair reached the national level in 2022 when the Ministry of Education (MoE) relaxed the school rules for International Women’s Day. Rightly, many criticisms were levelled against the move that was seen as performative at best, given that after that one empowering hair day, students would have to return to the regular standard of having their hair scrutinised and criticised. While the MoE as a body does not institute rules about a student’s appearance, it would be disingenuous to say that its history of turning a blind eye towards its impact has not shaped the culture and ease with which schools’ management creates and maintains these mandates.
