NIGERIA: “I Was Denied My Exam Because I Wore My Natural Hair” – Woman Narrates Ordeal
A Nigerian woman, Lucy Emmanuel-Uzochukwu, has sparked conversation online after revealing she was denied entry into her exam hall for wearing her natural hair in an Afro.
Taking to Facebook, she wrote: “I was denied the right to write my exam because I wore my natural hair. Yes, you read that right. My natural hair was considered inappropriate for an exam hall.”
She said she was told to leave the line, not for breaking any exam rules, but simply because of her Afro.
“I was wearing an Afro, and my hair wasn’t even very long then. But a lecturer called it inappropriate, a distraction, and a nuisance. He told me to go and look for what I should do with my hair,” she recounted.
Lucy questioned why natural Afro hair is often labeled as “tattered” or unprofessional, while other hair textures are accepted as the standard.
She revealed she had to look for a scarf to cover her hair before she was allowed to write the exam, adding that a friend working in a bank told her natural hair is also banned in her workplace.
“We, as Africans, need to learn to appreciate our natural hair and derive joy in wearing it without feeling ashamed,” she added.