She challenges the belief that Black women need wigs or "protective styles" to feel beautiful, urging women to embrace and celebrate their natural hair instead.
"Why are we the only group of people who have to wear another texture of hair to feel beautiful? Why are we the only people who have to protect our hair? Like, put it in cornrows and then wear another texture of hair.
Like, why did God decide that Black people would not have good hair? That was a thought. That was a mentality that was in my head.
That made me want to know my hair. That made me want to understand my hair. So I started wearing my hair.
I started putting it in a bun. It was really short, but I just wanted to wear my hair. I was washing it as much as I could, and then I started to enjoy my hair.
And that was when I started hating the idea of protective styles. Genuinely. Every time I hear that phrase, it annoys me.
It really does. I understand that you might want to put your hair in cornrows. Cornrows are beautiful. All-back is fine. Shuku is nice. Those are beautiful, elegant hairstyles.
But the idea that we are constantly protecting the hair annoys me because no other group of people keeps their hair locked away 12 months a year. The idea that they are protecting it. From what?
Most Africans have the thinnest hair. We cannot afford to be wearing the kind of attachments we are wearing. But we are the ones who do the most when it comes to our hair.
Years back, this was when I went for my interview with Ebuka on Rubbin' Minds. Because that day I packed my hair and put on a fake afro bun, people were like, "Is she Deeper Life?" I'm Deeper Life because I want my natural hair?
And what really annoys or irritates me more is when I see people who think that because they have the most expensive wigs, they talk down on people who decide to actually wear their own hair.
That's why when that billionaire lady who was recently interviewed by the white guy had shuku on her head, everybody was like, "Ah-ah, billionaires do shuku?"
Here in Ghana, I meet a lot of rich women. And when I mean they never have a wig on their head, it's always me. Me wearing a wig makes them laugh.
I'm the one always wearing the wig, and the people I'm talking to, who have assets, lands, cars, and houses, are wearing locs. They have locs. Or they have natural hair. Or they have it in a bun. Or they have relaxed hair. Like, it is the one that grows on their scalp.
But me, my whole head is "rich aunty," yes."
~ Maraji urges Black women to embrace their natural hair, questioning wig culture, protective styles and societal beauty standards.
