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Outlook: Why cutting my dreadlocks set me free

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CROP Safiya Sinclair credit Beowulf Sheehan.jpg

11/12/2023 GMT

Why cutting my dreadlocks set me free

BBC World Service - Outlook, Why cutting my dreadlocks set me free

Feeling trapped in a strict Rastafari household, poetry helps Safiya Sinclair escape

Feeling trapped in a strict Rastafari household dominated by her father, Jamaican writer Safiya Sinclair finds freedom through poetry.

Growing up in a strict Rastafari household, Jamaican poet and writer Safiya Sinclair’s dad imposed strict rules on her and her siblings. They were forced to wear their hair in dreadlocks, follow the religion's dietary regime, and only mix with other Rastafarians like themselves. This way of life wasn’t always to Safiya's liking, but she still idolised her father. Yet, as Safiya got older and her father's rules became stricter, she began to question her Rastafari life. She felt trapped, but after discovering poetry, she found a way she could escape.

Safiya has written a memoir called How to Say Babylon. 

Presenter: Asya Fouks
Producer: Charlie Towler and Rob Wilson

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Safiya Sinclair. Credit: Beowulf Sheehan)

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