# @instagram on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CMSVhKRMEOP
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/11619887-instagram-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/1965120b87.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-03-11T17:16:33.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Instagram (@instagram) — https://gondola.cc/instagram

## Caption

“Asking me to change my hair is like asking me to erase my Blackness.” —18-year-old ⁣antiracism and social justice activist Zulaikha Patel (zulaikhapatel_) ⁣
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After struggling with racial bullying and low self-esteem in primary school, Zulaikha started her first day at an all-girls school in Pretoria, South Africa, at age 13 confident and hopeful: “My Afro was flourishing and my curls were popping,” she says. “But from the get-go, overt racism was thrown in my face.” ⁣
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Zulaikha was scolded by teachers for speaking with friends in her native tongue at the formerly all-white school. And she was told her hair didn’t comply with school policy. “They said it had to be tied at the nape of your neck. Think about that: When you’re African, and you have not chemically straightened your hair, that is impossible. I have yet to see the day that I have tied my hair at the nape of my neck.” ⁣
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Zulaikha, along with a dozen classmates, protested at school and began the #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh movement on social media, sparking a nationwide conversation about racism and cultural discrimination in schools. ⁣

“It’s a never-ending moment,” says Zulaikha. “It represented something bigger. It gave Black women voices in other movements.”

confidencecodegirls shares stories about #GirlsOfAction, including Zulaikha, and encourages women to live their most confident life. #WomensHistoryMonth ⁣
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Photo by zulaikhapatel_

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## Tags

stopracismatpretoriagirlshigh, girlsofaction, womenshistorymonth

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