8/14/2020 - Maliha
“I want them to see wow. I want them to see that I cut air when I walk. I want them to see my confidence.”
Some say eyes are the windows to the soul but hair can say so much more.
Maliha views hair as a representation of life and culture. “One strand of hair represents a part of your life. It can say so much… Being a black woman in America, my hair is a staple of my identity… It represents my culture that is so precious.” For black women, it’s harder to find confidence in their natural hair due to centuries long discrimination.
When asking Maliha on her feelings on the Crown act, which is a law that prohibits the discrimination on natural hair, she told us “I feel that law really speaks for the current state of society. My respect as a human being is defined by following the law. My liberty to wear my hair. That disgusts me..." The effects of this law would be enough to damage the self esteem of those who are already apprehensive to let their hair out, or further limit an important part of someone’s identity that is just in their nature.
Everyone has a different journey ahead of them, especially regarding hair and beginning it can be incredibly daunting, so when we asked Maliha what she would want to say to young people who aren’t as confident in their hair as she is, she said, “curly or not, damaged or not. Your hair is beautiful, the way it is.” With everything that is considered beautiful, it always takes time for it to manifest properly.
As a young child, Maliha was unaware of how to care for her natural 3a-4b hair, so she had to rely on family to do so. “My sister was the caretaker of my hair when I was younger,” says Maliha. When her sister did her hair, she would often straighten it, so it changed Maliha’s naturally coily hair texture to a waiver texture. So, even though Maliha’s hair still “had length,” it wasn’t in its natural form.
Things started changing for Maliha through 5th and 6th grade. During that time, she was given the new responsibility of managing her hair herself. Maliha quickly realized that she shouldn’t straighten her hair, so she had to learn how to style her hair naturally, which is something that proved to be a lot to learn. Maliha was always very attached to her hair, so no one could’ve expected what she would do next.
In her freshman year, Maliha decided to shave her head completely. “I wanted to see what my true hair texture was, so I cut it. And it happened so fast.” Maliha described her process by saying, “I wanted to have virgin hair.” Virgin is a term you don’t usually hear when talking about hair. When we asked Maliha why she used that term, she said, “I want to use the word virgin with my hair to give that sense of purity .” This decision made Maliha view hair in a different light and changed her life forever.
Eventually, her hair grew back, and shaving her head helped her feel more connected to it. This change with her hair was such a significant milestone that she decided to base her entire college essay on her hair journey.“The journey was so crazy, but the discipline of growth is the fact that it’s not always measurable. The cutting of my hair was not the end of my journey, but it was more like the beginning.”
Some say eyes are the windows to the soul but hair can say so much more, Maliha radiates the identity she has defined for herself and confidence she’s gained through her hair. That same confidence is shown through her dance, from ballet to African; Maliha makes it known that she’s unapologetically proud of who she is. No matter the dance style she’s performing.
Be on the lookout for Maliha, she’ll be back real soon in an issue regarding her art, dance.
Written by: Damia Mckeithan
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