13-Year-Old Zulaikha Patel Challenges School’s Racist Hair Policy
August 29 marked a turning point in South African history, a day when schoolgirls stood up against racist hair policies at their schools, with 13-year-old Zulaikha Patel at the forefront. Her protest at Pretoria Girls High School became a symbol of resistance, calling out the institutional racism still embedded in elite educational spaces.
Zulaikha and her peers challenged a school policy that saw natural African hair as “unruly,” “distracting,” or “exotic.” In a deeply emotional interview, her sister Amira revealed how Zulaikha was bullied, forced to change schools multiple times, and even sent to detention, all because of her natural afro.
The story sparked a movement. The hashtag #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh trended globally, drawing attention to the deeper issues of cultural erasure, language suppression, and discriminatory behavior that black students faced daily. From being told not to speak in their mother tongues to being compared to monkeys, the students’ experiences revealed a painful legacy of apartheid-era thinking.
Former students and public figures, including model Carla Dennis and writer Panashe Chigumadzi, spoke out in solidarity. A petition demanding change garnered tens of thousands of signatures, and government officials, including Gauteng MEC Panyaza Lesufi, were forced to step in.
This wasn’t just about hair, it was about identity, dignity, and the right of young black girls to exist as they are, without being forced to conform to outdated, eurocentric standards. Zulaikha and her classmates stood tall and proud, sparking a national reckoning in education and beyond.
