Black England Women’s rugby player reveals she feels like her afro hair is a ‘spectacle’ in the sport and has been asked ‘naive’ questions her white teammates would not receive
- Sadia Kabeya, 21, told the BBC she felt she needed to change her hair to ‘fit in’
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A rugby player who has 10 caps for England Women says she has been made to feel like she has to change her afro hair to ‘fit in’ with her sport.
Sadia Kabeya, who also plays at club level for Loughborough Lightning, spoke about her career in a column in which she argued there needs to be a broader discussion about black women’s hair in mainstream sport.
The Lewisham-born flanker, 21, also claimed in the column that she is asked questions about her long hair that she believes she wouldn’t be asked if she was white.
Claiming her hair is sometimes seen as a ‘spectacle’, she said sometimes it is better for other people to keep questions and comments to themselves and argued that, unless you were born with afro hair, you are unlikely to understand the ‘deep-rooted connection’ a black woman has with her hair.
She said: ‘A small comment about a black girl’s hair could be something that is ringing around her head for the next couple of days.’
Sadia Kabeya, a rugby player with 10 England caps, has revealed she has been made to feel like her afro hair and the braids she wears are a ‘spectacle’ within the sport as she calls for measures to make black women feel more welcome
Sadia, who sometimes chooses to wear her hair in longer braids, explained to the BBC that people often have a misconception that black women choose the style because of how it looks.
The rugby ace argued that, while wearing her hair in braids gives her confidence, it is also practical for her and is a ‘protective style’ which helps preserve her natural hair underneath.
If she played with her hair in its natural, she explained it would get badly damaged and would end up ‘all over the place’.
She explained that protective hair styles are steeped in heritage and tradition.
Sadia, 21 (pictured picking up the Allianz Premier 15s Award last year) said she is asked questions about the length of her hair that she doesn’t believe her white temam
In terms of her lifestyle, the rugby player also revealed that having her hair in braids means she can easily go out after matches with her teammates (something that often happens in rugby) without having to worry about styling her hair.
If she had worn it in a natural style for the match, she explained it would take nearly three hours to style it in a way she was happy with to ‘feel presentable’.
‘At first I decided not to go out,’ she said. ‘But with braids, I can play rugby with the hair that I want and still look good and feel good after. I felt like I could fit in.’
Despite playing at the top of her game, Sadia revealed people have made comments to her that made her feel as if her hair was ‘not acceptable in rugby’.
She claimed she has been blighted throughout her career in rugby by ‘flippant’ and ‘naive’ questions about her hair – particularly people who ask why she plays with long braids.
She said: ‘If I was not a person of colour and my hair was naturally long, I do not think I would get these comments.’
As she tries to encourage more black girls to get into playing rugby at a young age, Sadia revealed the ways in which she thinks the sport can make them feel like they fit in.
She explained that, when she goes to bed, she wraps her hair in a satin headscarf to keep it neat.
While playing on the pitch, she is required to wear a scrum cap to protect her hair, but she thinks the addition of a satin inner layer would be even better.
She described black women in rugby as a ‘niche community’ but added she believes little changes like this could help make them feel more welcome and increase the number of black women in the sport.
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