In 2021, she helped a member of the Senate draft a question to the minister of education about textured hair. In response, the Education Ministry, at the time headed by Pap Ndiaye, the first Black person to hold the post, said it was working on addressing the training issue. In 2022, it created an advanced-level certification program available to those who have already secured a basic hairdressing license. In finally getting the government to act, Dr. Livoreil-Djampou credits the efforts of activists like Taj, a famous Parisian stylist from Martinique, who died in 2019 and who had long championed this cause. And, Dr. Livoreil-Djampou added, the timing was also right.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 27, 2023 15:17 UTC