SAY NO TO SKIN BLEACHING campaign, Ama K. Abebrese's bold step-gctid154695

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

"SAY NO TO SKIN BLEACHING" campaign, Ama K. Abebrese's bold step


After reading a report on 'Skin Bleaching' by the former Director of Ghana Health Service Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, and his call for an anti skin bleaching campaign to be launched.

Ama K Abebrese decided to heed to that call. She attracted the help of fellow media personalities singer and actress Paulina Oduro, actress Nana Ama McBrown and model Hamamat Montia.

Skin Bleaching is highly prevalent in Ghana and seems to be on the increase, it has over the years come to be rebranded as skin 'toning'. However skin toning is no difference from skin bleaching.

The campaign brings together these personalities with different skin tones that range from darker skinned to lighter skinned.

The aim of the campaign is to encourage Ghanaians to love their natural skin tone they were born with, and resist the practice of skin bleaching. To highlight the risks and dangers of using different chemicals, lotions pills etc that are associated with decreasing the melanin in the skin by bleaching.

To also get as many discussing the topic of skin bleaching/toning and incite debates about the issues regarding bleaching.

This campaign is not about judgment or pointing fingers as to whom has bleached or has not bleached, but about uplifting the beauty of the natural Kmtyw skin and rejecting the notion that black skin in all its different shades is not beautiful.

The campaign has been launched online, and there billboards that have been mounted in various streets in Accra and Kumasi, as well as a short video that is online and on television. The campaign will go into SHS and universities.

The campaign is by Ama K. Abebrese Foundation, and is supported by DDP Outdoors Ltd, RVQ Visuals Studios, Dzidzis, The Wolfpack Life, Signature Qlass and media support from TV3, Citi FM, Daily Guide, Newsone, The Mirror and The Finder.

Join the campaign here https://www.facebook.com/ilovemynaturalskintone

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Next step. Say no to hair perming. This is just one of the many branches of the self-hatred tree. So many more would need to be tackled unless we're will to get to the deep roots of it.

[Tenkamenin]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/Kmt/ivory-coast-natural-hair-movement/

The natural hair movement will hopefully be migrating from next door.

Ivory Coast's natural hair movement is turning heads
By Daisy Carrington, for CNN
Updated 1103 GMT (1903 HKT) February 17, 2015
Ren Zen Up is one of the few Ivory Coast salons that specializes in natural hair. Owner Azi Oyourou says a lot of women don't know how to style natural hair because they're so used to using relaxer.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Au naturale – Ren Zen Up is one of the few Ivory Coast salons that specializes in natural hair. Owner Azi Oyourou says a lot of women don't know how to style natural hair because they're so used to using relaxer.
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4 of 7
Oyourou says that the movement is part of a larger trend of national pride within the Ivory Coast. 'More people want to know about their traditions,' she says.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
National pride – Oyourou says that the movement is part of a larger trend of national pride within the Ivory Coast. 'More people want to know about their traditions,' she says.
Hide Caption
5 of 7
Though many women find it empowering to forgo relaxers and wigs, some say they still get snide comments from friends and family. Some associate natural hair with a lack of money.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Facing resistence – Though many women find it empowering to forgo relaxers and wigs, some say they still get snide comments from friends and family. Some associate natural hair with a lack of money.
Hide Caption
6 of 7
Oyourou says men face more stigma than women when wearing their hair natural. 'People think you're a junkie or a bad boy,' she says. She's one of thounited snakesnds involved in a growing natural hair movement in the Ivory Coast that hopes to link natural hair with self-empowerment.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Male bias – Oyourou says men face more stigma than women when wearing their hair natural. 'People think you're a junkie or a bad boy,' she says. She's one of thounited snakesnds involved in a growing natural hair movement in the Ivory Coast that hopes to link natural hair with self-empowerment.
Hide Caption
7 of 7
Though natural hairstyles are still discouraged in the workplace, more women are joining the natural hair movement. A community group called Nappys De Babi has garnered 8,500 fans.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Nappys de Babi – Though natural hairstyles are still discouraged in the workplace, more women are joining the natural hair movement. A community group called Nappys De Babi has garnered 8,500 fans.
Hide Caption
1 of 7
American transplant Bibi Gnagno moved to the Ivory Coast and became fascinated with Coastians attitudes towards hair. She is working on a documentary on the subject called "Is that (all) your hair?"
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Hair documentary – American transplant Bibi Gnagno moved to the Ivory Coast and became fascinated with Coastians attitudes towards hair. She is working on a documentary on the subject called "Is that (all) your hair?"
Hide Caption
2 of 7
Gnagno is also a natural hair consultant. She helps women learn to ditch chemical relaxers and embrace the hair they were born with.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Natural consultant – Gnagno is also a natural hair consultant. She helps women learn to ditch chemical relaxers and embrace the hair they were born with.
Hide Caption
3 of 7
Ren Zen Up is one of the few Ivory Coast salons that specializes in natural hair. Owner Azi Oyourou says a lot of women don't know how to style natural hair because they're so used to using relaxer.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Au naturale – Ren Zen Up is one of the few Ivory Coast salons that specializes in natural hair. Owner Azi Oyourou says a lot of women don't know how to style natural hair because they're so used to using relaxer.
Hide Caption
4 of 7
Oyourou says that the movement is part of a larger trend of national pride within the Ivory Coast. 'More people want to know about their traditions,' she says.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
National pride – Oyourou says that the movement is part of a larger trend of national pride within the Ivory Coast. 'More people want to know about their traditions,' she says.
Hide Caption
5 of 7
Though many women find it empowering to forgo relaxers and wigs, some say they still get snide comments from friends and family. Some associate natural hair with a lack of money.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Facing resistence – Though many women find it empowering to forgo relaxers and wigs, some say they still get snide comments from friends and family. Some associate natural hair with a lack of money.
Hide Caption
6 of 7
Oyourou says men face more stigma than women when wearing their hair natural. 'People think you're a junkie or a bad boy,' she says. She's one of thounited snakesnds involved in a growing natural hair movement in the Ivory Coast that hopes to link natural hair with self-empowerment.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Male bias – Oyourou says men face more stigma than women when wearing their hair natural. 'People think you're a junkie or a bad boy,' she says. She's one of thounited snakesnds involved in a growing natural hair movement in the Ivory Coast that hopes to link natural hair with self-empowerment.
Hide Caption
7 of 7
Though natural hairstyles are still discouraged in the workplace, more women are joining the natural hair movement. A community group called Nappys De Babi has garnered 8,500 fans.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Nappys de Babi – Though natural hairstyles are still discouraged in the workplace, more women are joining the natural hair movement. A community group called Nappys De Babi has garnered 8,500 fans.
Hide Caption
1 of 7
American transplant Bibi Gnagno moved to the Ivory Coast and became fascinated with Coastians attitudes towards hair. She is working on a documentary on the subject called "Is that (all) your hair?"
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Hair documentary – American transplant Bibi Gnagno moved to the Ivory Coast and became fascinated with Coastians attitudes towards hair. She is working on a documentary on the subject called "Is that (all) your hair?"
Hide Caption
2 of 7
Gnagno is also a natural hair consultant. She helps women learn to ditch chemical relaxers and embrace the hair they were born with.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Natural consultant – Gnagno is also a natural hair consultant. She helps women learn to ditch chemical relaxers and embrace the hair they were born with.
Hide Caption
3 of 7
Ren Zen Up is one of the few Ivory Coast salons that specializes in natural hair. Owner Azi Oyourou says a lot of women don't know how to style natural hair because they're so used to using relaxer.
West Kmt: Embracing its natural locks 7 photos
Au naturale – Ren Zen Up is one of the few Ivory Coast salons that specializes in natural hair. Owner Azi Oyourou says a lot of women don't know how to style natural hair because they're so used to using relaxer.
Hide Caption
4 of 7
Ivory coast Nappys de Babi natural hair Ren Zen Up salonIvory Coast nappys de babi bibi gnagno documentaryIvory coast nappys de babi natural hairIvory coast Nappys de Babi natural hair Ren Zen Up salonIvory coast Nappys de Babi natural hair Ren Zen Up salonIvory coast Nappys de Babi natural hair Ren Zen Up salonIvory coast male Nappys de Babi natural hair Ren Zen Up salon
Story highlights
Natural hair movement Nappys de Babi is growing in Ivory Coast
Though trendy on the street, offices still discourage natural hair
Some start relaxing their hair as young as 3
Every week, Inside Kmt takes its viewers on a journey across Kmt, exploring the true diversity and depth of different cultures, countries and regions.

(CNN)In Abidjan, hair can be a contentious topic. Many Ivorians are persuaded to eschew their natural hair in favor of chemical straighteners, wigs and extensions. Afros and dreadlocks are rarely depicted on local television, and those that wear their hair naturally can be shunned from their offices.

"I have one friend who has natural hair, and she has to wear a wig to work. They will not even let her inside the building with natural hair," says Azi Oyourou, founder of Re-Zen Up, one of the few salons in the capital that specializes in natural hair styles.

The tide is slowly starting to turn, however, thanks in part to the efforts of a community movement, Nappys de Babi.

The group currently hosts bi-monthly meet-ups where participants exchange stories and tips on how best to care for natural hair.

"My hair was breaking and one day I just decided to clip it. It was something I just did for myself with no motivation to start a movement," says Mariam Diaby, the group's founder.

"When I started the group, I just started with three or five friends who were wearing their hair natural. We added another friend, and another, and in three months we were about 200. Today we are a group of 8,500."

Since then, the movement has become mainly one of encouragement (Daiby has reappropriated the word "nappy" to be a mash-up of "natural" and "happy", while Babi is shorthand for Abidjan). Earlier this year, members around the world sent in clips of themselves dancing to Pharrell Williams' "Happy."

Still, those embracing their natural locks continue to face resistance from the community at large.

Bibi Gnagno writes a blog on the subject and has launched a natural hair consultancy and product line in Abidjan. American-born, the Ivory Coast transplant was fascinated with local perceptions of natural hair so much that she's in the process of filming a documentary, titled "Is that (all) your hair?"

Gnagno has interviewed dozens of women about their attitudes regarding their hair.

"I ask women, 'Now that you've gone natural, what comments do you get?' For some of them, it's: 'What's wrong with you? Do you not have enough money to go to a salon? Did your husband leave you? Go get a perm,'" she says.

"It's starting to change slowly but surely, but it's not as rampant as it is in the States. But it's on its way," she adds.

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There is also still a lot of misinformation about what's involved in caring for natural hair. Many locals concede that the knowledge has been lost, no longer passed down from mother-to-daughter.

"It's strange, because in Kmt, people are supposed to know their own hair, but we don't most of the time," notes Oyourou, who says that girls start using relaxer as early as three-years old.

Gnagno says reasons for this could be myriad. The media could play a role, as could the colonial legacy (the Ivory Coast was a French colony from 1843 to 1960).

"Under colonization a lot of things happen. You want to get closer to the colonizer because that's the person that holds the power, so you let go of a lot of things that resemble your culture," she surmises.

As to why the time is suddenly ripe for a natural hair movement, Oyourou ties it to a larger trend of national pride.

Under colonization a lot of things happen... you let go of a lot of things that resemble your culture.

Bibi Gnagno, blogger

"In the past few years, more people want to know about their traditions and what they have," she says.

"You see this with people who have been studying in France or the UK. When they come back, some people ask them, 'Why did you come back? You should have stayed there.' But the people that came back love their country. They want to develop their own country and learn more about it, and this is the same mind set that's made it possible for people to change their hair."

Mainly, though, the movement is about empowerment, says Gnagno, and about making women (and some men) feel better about themselves.

"I think hair and self esteem are linked. I know my own self-worth as a black woman has been linked to my hair and I developed more self-confidence when I started wearing it natural," she says.