Afro-Identity Redemption: Decolonizing Hairstyles of Girls in Ghanaian Senior High Schools in Promotion of Cultural Sustainability

Abstract

Most girls in Ghana are largely educated and trained without their hair and thus go through a long period of training deprived of the vital part of their make, which may render them identity denial. The aim of this paper is to explore the rationale underpinning the shaving off of girls’ hair during pre-tertiary levels of education to understand the practice and its effects on womanhood from cultural identity perspective. The research employed qualitative approach and used structured open-ended questionnaires and document review protocols as tools for gathering data. The gathered data were thematically analyzed. The findings show that hair from African perspective on the ontological level is symbolic showing phases of womanhood and interspersed with external admiration from natural aesthetics endowment and cultural identity. It further shows that the policy on shaving, which has colonial attachment, disrupts cultural sustainability though it is meant to ease the burden of the girl-child from the cumbersome nature of styling of the hair supposedly. The authors recommend that to train the girl-child wholly for life, they should be allowed to explore Afro-defined natural hairstyles to develop the skills of maintaining their cultural image.