Andrea Dworkin articulates this reality with unflinching clarity, stating, ‘In our culture, not one part of a woman’s body is left untouched, unaltered. Hair as ResistanceYet hair can also become a powerful tool of resistance, a symbolic weapon wielded by the oppressed to demand visibility and justice. The act of self-inflicted hair removal inverts the typical oppressive cycle, with women regaining control over their own appearance and liberating themselves from the traditional mechanisms of control. In a paradigm of rampant commodification of the female form, commercial manipulation, patriarchal surveillance, caste-based discrimination, and ethno-religious domination, hair remains a contested terrain where power, identity, and resistance collide. Hair is political—whether it is a site of oppression or a dramatic gesture of resistance.

Source: The Hindu February 06, 2026 01:04 UTC