I am the Afro
We bid farewell to Women's Month with a group of young pupils from the Pretoria High School for Girls, shining the spotlight on issues that are very familiar to black women. Their actions and utterances have made our entire nation sit up, listen and take note. As a result of the actions of a few - major changes could be on the cards.
Here's how things unfolded:
At the weekend, some of the black girls at the school could be seen in a video shared on social media, protesting in front of their school.
According to a letter penned by them and addressed to their principal and the department - they are forced to straighten their hair, to get rid of the kinks, curls and locks.
A petition, supporting the pupils, raked up more than 24 thousand signatures, and forced the MEC to make the school his first stop on Monday morning.
Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, was met by a group of emotional girls chanting "We are tired, we are tired" - the youngest a 13-year-old learner.
Lesufi, spent the greater part of the day at the school speaking to pupils, teachers and parents. He remarked that something was horribly wrong at the school, and that black girls should not be experiencing this kind of pain in today's society. Lesufi went as far as saying that if some have to leave the school because of the current state of affairs, then that is what must happen.
As many others, Lesufi was flabbergasted when the truth emerged - that young black girls are required to conform, change a great part of themselves - their hair, to fit in. Their hair - big and bold when in an afro - is described as untidy, unruly - something that must be brought under control, like it's too much to handle - not for those wearing it, but for those looking at it.
So here we are, in 2016 and school pupils are showing us what is still fundamentally wrong in our society - our perceptions of what is acceptable, and what is the norm. Our need to fit in has become all consuming, that we are at a stage where we are not debating the state of education in the country at this stage - but how we look, and how we should look.
I was part of the media delegation allowed in the room where these discussions took place. I sat, listening to the voices of pupils, detailing their experiences. They recalled insults being hurled at them, their hair being described as dirty, that "your afro has reached its limits" that "your dreadlocks are dirty."
It took me back to my own childhood. My own experiences with hair. My mother's struggle to comb through it, in its natural state. When I joined a former Model C school, I too had to conform. Relaxing my hair was now part of what I had to do. It was described as a measure that would make me seem more "appropriate" for school. Except it didn't. One pain was replaced with another. My scalp burning and eyes tearing as the chemicals did its job. All in the name of fitting in and being accepted. I never questioned it. It was the way things were. But I should have. I should have said something. I should have protested. For what it taught me was this - that my hair was not okay. That it was not good enough and accepted as is, for school. That unlike other girls, I needed to "fix" it.
Beyond school, I've learned to love all of me. Even my hair. I've learned that it's okay for you not to like what you see, because the most important thing is for me to like what I see. How I wish I could speak to my younger self. If only to give her this advice.
I didn't learn those lessons soon enough. But now we have a chance to rectify the wrongs. We have a chance to start over, and ensure that little black girls grow up knowing that there is nothing wrong with them for having the hair that they do. There is nothing wrong with wanting to leave it in its natural state and wearing it proudly. We have the chance to change the learning experience of thousands of girls. We have the chance to be a prominent voice in School Governing Bodies, showing them that South Africa is a diverse and open society, where people should be allowed to embrace who and what they are. That chance is now.
Today schooling at PHSG will continue as normal. The hair policy that's been at the centre of controversy, has been suspended immediately pending a review and further consultations. That is a start, but Pretoria Girls is just one school. The provincial education department's decision to review all codes of conduct across the province is certainly a step in the right direction towards truly transforming the environment of teaching and learning -and healing the wounds of the past. For all of us. So thank you, young black African child from Pretoria Girls High - your voice matters. You are changing your world, for the better.
Written by Slindelo Masikane, JacarandaFM journalist