Hi Guys!

How are you doing? I'm going bald.

This is what I look like now:

However, when I go bald, the top of my held will look more like this:



No, it's not because I've just reached that age. Let me explain a bit more.

SPONSORED HEAD SHAVE FOR AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
campaigning on behalf of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA)

My name is Rhian. I became involved with Amnesty through a colleague who had worked in charity fundraising. She told me that Amnesty International did more with the money they received by donation, pound for pound, than any other charity she had ever worked with. Their actions, their stance on Human Rights and their results have constantly impressed me.

For a while, I have been meaning to make a contribution more substantial than the money I have paid for membership or collected through raffles.

It occured to me that I should do something which reflects the dehumanising treatment suffered by prisoners, often political prisoners who have been brutalised because of their views and not because of any unlawful behaviour, or people who have been unjustly incarcerated in unfair trials or on circumstantial evidence.

So I decided to shave my head.

This is quite a big thing for me. It will be strange to be bald. I'm a girl, and I'm sure it'll attract more than a few stares. Some of the comments I might hear may not be pleasant. People will almost certainly jump to conclusions when they see the state of my pate, and I'm pretty sure I won't look as attractive on a night out, especially if the lights are reflecting off my scalp.

But these are very minor things, compared to what the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) experience. Here's an extract from the Amnesty website:

Women human rights activists face repression.

Since February 2003, members of the women’s rights organisation Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) have been arrested repeatedly for peacefully demonstrating against the worsening social, economic and human rights situation in Zimbabwe. They were among the targets when the government cracked down on civil society and opposition activists after the first round of presidential elections in March 2008.

WOZA members continue to show great resilience and bravery in adversity.

In June 2007 seven members of WOZA were arbitrarily arrested after a peaceful protest in Bulawayo. Riot police beat the activists, and two of the women who were arrested were also beaten in police custody. None of them received medical treatment until after their release a few days later. The women reported that police officers threw buckets of water into the cells each day, forcing them to spend time on wet concrete in winter, and the seven women were given only two blankets between them.

- Further reading will reveal that many of the women who are being arrested and abused are pregnant. Some are mothers, who are kept from their children for a long time without just cause.

I believe that the Women Of Zimbabwe Arise have the right to express themselves in a peaceful manner, no matter what they choose to say.

And in order to support WOZA and Amnesty International's human rights coverage and campaign, I ask that you sponsor me. It doesn't have to be much. One or two pounds, euros or dollars will make a big difference if enough people give.

I will post before and after pictures of the head shave, to complete my public humiliation.

It's a win-win situation. If you donate out of the goodness of your heart, you get to share that fuzzy feeling. If you hate my guts, you can donate and ensure that I go through with it, so you get to see the hideous aftermath.

To donate by card, please visit: [link]

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Before Pictures: [link]

After pictures will also be supplied, once there is an after to take pictures of. There might be a few 'during' pictures as well. Imagine, the first push of the razor through my poor hair, revealing the shiny, sun-starved skin beneath!

Donate at: [link]

If you can't donate, then please take just a few minutes of your time to visit [link] to take part in an 'action' - sending an email on behalf of a political prisoner. Sending a template email and signing it can take seconds, and it makes such a difference.

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ALSO: Tell as many people as you possibly can! Anyone willing to link to this journal here: [link] anywhere at all (such as a blog, or in your email signature) will be doing a little bit to help.

You can also check out the Facebook group here: [link]

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far.

---- Definite dates to be added when I find a hairdresser brave enough to shave ----