Media Mogul, Mosunmola Abudu has called out British news agency, Sky News for naming popular African thread hairstyle, Coronavirus haircut.
Sky News in a report titled “Spiky coronavirus haircut growing in popularity in Africa – here’s why” attributed the popularity of the African thread hairstyle to the shape of deadly Coronavirus which has claimed over 200, 000 lives across 50 nations of the world.
Mo Abudu who found such a report offensive to the African heritage did not hold back in slamming the British news agency and demanded the report be taken down with an apology.
The Ebonylife CEO who schooled Sky news stated that the African thread hairstyle had existed long before the outbreak of COVID-19.
Noting that the thread hairstyle could be traced back as far back as 1500 BC to portray hierarchy in the African culture. Comparing it with such a negative virus as COVID-19 was a total dishonour to the memory of the African ancestors.
Mo Abudu made this known via her verified Instagram page.
“Hello beautiful people,
“A recent publication made by @skynews on Monday 11, May 2020 titled “Spiky coronavirus haircut growing in popularity in Africa – here’s why” ?- has come to my attention and here’s what I have to say:
“For starters it’s not a haircut, it’s a hairstyle!!!
“Hair has played a significant role in the culture of ancient African civilizations. It symbolized one’s family background, social status, spirituality, tribe, and marital status.
“As early as the 15th century, different tribes used hair to show one’s social hierarchy. Members of royalty wore elaborate hairstyles as a symbol of their stature.
“Another thing to note is that Africa is rich with ancient hair traditions and styles. African threading dated as far back as the late 15th century and is a cherished tradition amongst women in parts of Nigeria, Ghana, and the entire Sub Saharan Africa.
“Generations of black women have used African Threading to style their hair and straighten it naturally.
“It is disrespectful to our African culture to say this hairstyle is recently gaining popularity because of the Corona virus or it is similar to a virus which is a major devastation to the world at present.
“I would like all African women to send a message to #SkyNews complaining about the post and report.
“@skynews, on behalf of myself and many other African women who have shown their displeasure of this post, I would like to urge you to take this post down as soon as possible. It is derogatory and condescending to us, our forefathers, our foremothers and generations to come.
“For future reference, @skynews kindly #Swipeleft to see pictures from over the years that shows the beauty of African women and our traditional hairstyles.”
