#MeToo: This Ivory Coast artist uses her hair to draw attention to sexual harassment

A hair sculpture made a 21-year-old artist in Ivory Coast draws attention to the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment.

A 21-year-old artist in Ivory Coast has found an eye-catching way to draw attention to the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment — by sculpting her hair into the image of a man lifting a woman’s skirt. Laetitia Ky creates elaborate hair sculptures in order to emphasise black women’s natural beauty, which is undervalued in the realms of fashion and entertainment, she said.

When women around the world began sharing experiences of sexual abuse and harassment on social media using the hashtag #MeToo — sparked by allegations against US movie producer Harvey Weinstein — she knew she wanted to take part.

“Like everyone, I saw the wave of women who were speaking out, and this touched me immensely,” Ky told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “I hope women everywhere wake up and revolt.”

The testimonies have been pouring in, she said. In West Africa, many women have said that sexual assault is rampant but so taboo that you can be shunned or considered unmarriageable for speaking out.

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