Authorities in Zanzibar are forcibly banning males from wearing their hair in braids, telling the BBC that doing so violates the law, local customs, and people’s morals.
“We find it dangerous to our future generations”, says Zanzibar’s Culture Executive Secretary Omar Adam. “This is one form of immorality in Zanzibar, it is a culture which is adopted from outside Zanzibar.”
He has allayed worries that the decision was made to specifically target the LGBTQ community on the islands, where same-sex relationships are forbidden.
Although the rule prohibiting males from braiding their hair dates back to 2015, it has only just begun to be enforced by the police.
Anyone with braided hair who enters or resides in Zanzibar faces a fine of more than $400, six months in jail, or both.
The officials claim that the enforcement will be applied equally to tourists even though Zanzibar is one of the most popular tourist destinations.
16 book titles and the usage of rainbow colors in classrooms were outlawed by the Zanzibari authorities two months ago under the pretext that they supported LGBTQ rights.