Uprooting Oppression: Powerful Moments When Women Cut Their Hair In Protest

For the past 56 days, ASHA workers (Accredited Social Health Activists) in Kerala have been on a relentless strike, demanding better wages and improved working conditions. From taking to the streets in protest to hunger strikes, they have resorted to every possible means to make their voices heard. They have been demanding a hike in their monthly honorarium from ₹7,000 to ₹21,000 and a one-time retirement benefit of ₹5 lakh.

On the 50th day of the strike, March 31, many of these protesting women chopped their hair or shaved their heads to make an emotional appeal to the Kerala government. "We will end the strike only after our demands are fulfilled by the state government," asserted VK Sadanandan, president of the Kerala ASHA Workers Association.

Kerala ASHA workers cut hair in protest

As the Kerala ASHA workers' strike touched day 50, with little response from the authorities, they resorted to a defiant approach. In Thiruvananthapuram, hundreds of women chopped their hair while shouting 'Inquilaab Zindabad' as they marched to the state secretariat, which is about 50 metres from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's office.

According to NDTV, protestors in other districts also took to the streets and cut or shaved their tresses. One protesting ASHA worker named Bindu told the outlet, "Our hair is precious to us like our children. Despite our genuine demands, the Kerala government is silent. But we are not going to call off our protests till our demands are met."

According to Indian Express Malayalam, Labour Minister V. Sivankutty invited the ASHA workers for a fresh round of discussions on April 7 after VK Sadanandan. Three discussions have been held between the workers and CPI-M government leaders in the past two months, with no breakthrough in resolving the workers' demands.

Iran's Impactful Protest

In September 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini died in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly violating hijab rules. Massive protests erupted countrywide, with thousands of women and men slashing their hair in protest against the theocratic government's strict dress code and broader oppression.

In Persian culture, Gisuborān, or haircutting, is a mourning ritual. By performing this practice publicly, protestors transformed personal pain into a powerful collective act of resistance. These protests sparked global solidarity, with women worldwide chopping their tresses and chanting 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadî' or Women, Life, Freedom.

South Korea's Feminist Protest

In November 2024, a woman in the South Gyeongsang province of South Korea was brutally attacked by a man who assumed she was a feminist (what they mean 'man-hater') because of her short hair. "Feminists are asking to be beaten up!” he allegedly told her before punching and kicking her, according to The Straits Times.

Similarly, in 2021, Olympic gold medallist archer An San faced a barrage of online abuse, with trolls assuming she was a feminist because of her short hair. South Korea has been seeing several 'anti-feminist' protests, with even President Yoon Suk-yeol claiming men were losing out as women became a bigger voice in society. 

This sparked a nationwide online campaign, #women_shortcut_campaign, where thousands of Korean women participated, posting photos of their bob haircuts and showing solidarity. This is one of the many feminist protests in South Korea, where women defied societal expectations and beauty norms to assert their message.

Women and short hair: A strong symbol

The Kerala ASHA workers' protest, Iran's anti-morality police protest, and South Korea's feminist protest are some of the many examples of women challenging society's grip on their bodily autonomy. From Joan of Arc to women in the contemporary world, short hair has been a signifier of defiance and rebellion, whether intentional or not. 

Indian author-philanthropist Sudha Murthy once spoke about how her short hair in her teenage years was seen as unfavourable. "One day I cut my hair. It became 'breaking news' in Hubli. Many people asked, 'How will your sisters get married?', worried that they were the 'bobbed hair girl’s sisters,' which was not considered favourable," she recounted on The Rulebreaker Show. "I said, 'I am an individual. I want to cut my hair. That’s all,'" she asserted.

What's the deal with hair?

Beyond its protective or sensory functions, hair is a symbol of identity, dignity, and strength. For example, in Hinduism, most goddesses have long, open tresses, embodying feminine power, grace, and divinity. Similarly, 12th-century Lingayat poet Akka Mahadevi renounced worldly possessions like clothing and covered her body with her hair.

In Sikhism, kesh or hair is considered a sacred gift from God and is not to be cut by either women or men. In Christianity, St. Agnes of Rome grew impossibly long hair that shielded her body from lustful eyes. In Black culture, hair and its unique styling have been a profound expression of resistance, pride, and identity across history. 

Owing to these powerful historical and cultural meanings, hair has become far more than a mere physical feature. It carries an unspoken language of resistance and resilience. Thus, by cutting hair in their hair in protest, women are asserting a voluntary detachment from systems that take away their agency.

From a teenage girl's decision to sport an undercut to a woman sacrificing her hair for justice, hair-cutting is a deeply personal yet universally resonant protest against conformity and social norms. Strand by strand, each cut becomes a powerful assertion of self-identity, of reclaiming power, and of breaking the silence.

Views expressed by the author are their own.