Left-wing lawmakers Spice Girls Singer Mel B plans to lobby the UK government to introduce a ban on “Afro hair discrimination”.
Facing crisis on multiple fronts, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's new government has been urged by Jamaican Labour MP Paulette Hamilton and singer Mel B to take its time to amend the Equality Act 2010 to include “afros” as a protected category, to make alleged discrimination on the basis of hairstyle a criminal offence. Guardian Reports.
“As Birmingham's first black Member of Parliament and the mother of four daughters, I know the impact this movement will have on my local community and people with Afros across the UK,” Ms Hamilton said.
Mel B added: “The first video I ever did was Spice Girls “For 'Wannabe,' the stylist took one look at my hair and said it had to be straightened. My big hair didn't fit the pop star mold. But I stood my ground, and with the support of my peers, I sang and danced my own way, with big hair and brown skin, and was incredibly proud of who I was.”
Demands from left-wing politicians and billionaires Spice Girls The star's appearance comes amid a widespread campaign by the World Afro-Day (WAD) group which has garnered signatures from over 100 celebrities, including entertainers and academics, to ban discrimination against people with African hairstyles.
“Removing hair from the list of protected categories in law has fuelled everyday discrimination and normalised afro hair as inferior in all areas of life,” the campaign argued.
Michelle de Leon, founder of WAD, said: “Laws are actually there to tell people what's right and what's wrong and to protect minority groups from oppression, discrimination and injustice. The UK does not have adequate legislation to stop generations of Afro hair discrimination continuing.”
However, social media users have questioned this claim, as hairstyles are already considered protected characteristics under the Equality Act when they are associated with a particular race.
According to the BBC, this What's Included Afros, braids, cornrows. In fact, in 2011, the UK High Court Found A London school's policy banning pupils from wearing cornrows has been deemed to amount to “racism” after an African-Caribbean pupil challenged it.
