Onto a cause, off with their hair
View(s):By Duvindi Illankoon
Moiya Hazell steps up to the raised platform at the Barefoot Cafe, visibly steeling herself under the harsh glare of the lights. A retired beautician, she is about to do something those in her profession have regular nightmares about. Moiya is going to shave her head for those who cannot raise theirs.
Showing the way: Moiya Hazell
The second instalment of Shear Madness, a campaign that was launched in December last year for Sri Lanka’s marginalised women and girls was held last week at the Barefoot Cafe in Bambalapitiya. Moiya was just one among many who volunteered to have their hair shorn off in a brave show of support for women just like them. “I thought I would be nervous and I am a little,” said Moiya a few minutes before her hair was shaved off. “But I’m also very confident in doing this. It’s the right thing to do.”
Shear Madness is an initiative taken by the Grassrooted Trust in an effort to signify the importance of women making informed decisions about their bodies. The shaved hair will not go to waste-it will be used to make wigs for women living with cancer. This instalment was also a part of the larger One Billion Rising movement that took Colombo by storm last week.
“The idea of shaving is about taking informed and empowered decisions about our body,” said Hans Billimoria of the Trust. “However the main focus is to ensure that people sit up and take notice of the issues we were highlighting. Sometimes when you just talk about these issues or show videos or whatever, people fail to connect. But when you believe passionately enough in something that makes you do something more than just talk about it; people listen.”
As the designated ‘Lucifer’ (compere to you and me) for the night, Hans noted that the turnout was small but that it only served to emphasise the difficult journey that lay ahead in their journey to empower women in Anuradhapura.
The first instalment in December raised just over Rs 50,000, which will be directed towards helping marginalised women and girls in Anuradhapura. These women include those living with HIV, women and girls in sex work, and those who have survived violence-a few key areas that the Grassrooted Trust primarily works in. This instalment raised Rs. 120,000 for the fund, which will eventually be directed to the building of a resource centre and programmes on sexual and reproductive health rights.
Grassrooted was invited by the recently inaugurated Dundee International Centre for Learning (also known as the Bishop Andrew Kumarage Centre) in Talawa, where the programme will be set up.
The turnout may have been small, but all the more stronger for it. In a beautiful display of moral support friends and families turned up to cheer on their loved ones as they shaved heads for a great cause. Perhaps the biggest cheer went out to young Jaden, six, who strode up to get his head shaved with his teary but very much proud mum’s encouragement.
Shermal Wijewardene, an English teacher by profession, has done this many times before but each time it holds a special significance. “Hair is very closely associated with the conventional standards of beauty,” she said. “Long hair is believed to be a key factor of your appearance and visibility. By shaving it off I’m pledging my support for all the women who have greater troubles than worrying about how they look.”
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