{"id":7420,"date":"2019-09-03T07:19:17","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T07:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=7420"},"modified":"2019-10-26T18:13:39","modified_gmt":"2019-10-26T18:13:39","slug":"7420-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2019\/09\/03\/7420-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Afro hair: How black Finns are taking on racism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michaela Moua is one of them.
\nBorn to a Finnish mother and Ivorian father, she is one of five Afro-Finns behind Finland’s only annual event dedicated to afro hair, the Good Hair Day.<\/p>\n

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\"TwoImage copyright<\/span> Mirna Shampemba<\/span> <\/span><\/figure>\n

“You don’t see us in the Finnish society. We’re a visible but invisible minority,” she tells the BBC.<\/p>\n

The hair event, created to celebrate afro hair, was born four years ago. This year it was held on 24 August.<\/p>\n

Ms Moua says the event, which consists of workshops and panel discussions, was born out of necessity.<\/p>\n

“We wanted to create an event that not only celebrated afro hair but was also educational and offered advice on how to take care of afro hair – especially for mixed race families,” she says.<\/p>\n

Although the event is about hair, Ms Moua says the issue combs deeper.<\/p>\n

“Many of us [Afro-Finns] thought for a long time that we were alone and a lot of us felt very lonely. This was a way to bring us together and realise there are more of us than we thought.”<\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span> Not just about hair – a panel discussions about what being an Afro-Finn means <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She says beauty standards prioritise Western beauty ideals and being brown or having afro hair is not seen as beautiful in Finland.<\/p>\n

“A lot of us were born here but regardless, society tells us we are not Finnish. Who gets to be Finnish and what does being Finnish mean?” she asks.<\/p>\n

‘It’s empowering’<\/h2>\n

Finland, with its relatively small population, has been a trendsetter in many fields since independence in 1917.<\/p>\n

The country scores consistently well on international ratings for stability, freedom, public safety and social progress.<\/p>\n

However, sexual and gender equality have not translated as easily to race relations.<\/p>\n

“Last year EU released a study about racism in EU countries,” Ms Moua says. “Finland topped the list.”<\/p>\n

The EU’s agency for fundamental rights (FRA) found Finland to have the highest rates of race-related harassment and violence.<\/p>\n

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