Racism in Indonesia: discriminated against over their hair and skin tone, Papuan models and make-up artists fight back on social media

Papuans are Melanesian, meaning their skin is darker than that of most Indonesians and their hair is curly. This makes them targets of colourism and worse

Papuan models and make-up artists use social media platforms to share beauty tips and campaign for acceptance using the hashtag PapuanLivesMatter

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Model Monalisa Sembor from Papua, Indonesia. She says the journey to accept her natural hair was a long one, given the racist comments it often draws. Photo: courtesy Monalisa Sembor

Published: 7:45am, 11 Sep 2020Updated: 10:52pm, 12 Oct 2020

Indonesian model Monalisa Sembor remembers how she used to stand for hours in front of a mirror as a little girl, wondering if she was pretty. Every time she went with her mother to the local hair salon in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia she asked if she could get her tight, springy ringlets straightened.

“My mother, who has the straight hair I always wanted, thinks my curly hair is very beautiful, so naturally she never gave permission,” Sembor says with a chuckle. “Finally I was able to say to myself, ‘No, no, no. I am beautiful as I am’.”

Now 24, with a father from the province of Papua in Indonesia’s east, and a mother from Toraja in Sulawesi, in the middle of the Indonesian archipelago, Sembor says the journey to accept her natural hair was a long one, because her twisting ringlets have been a target of criticism all her life, often with racist overtones.

Once, Sembor recalls, when she was out walking with a relative in Java, a stranger said: “Your hair looks like noodles. When you’re hungry you can take some from your head.”

Indonesian model Monalisa Sembor. Her father is from Papua in eastern Indonesia and her mother from Sulawesi, in the centre of the country. Photo: courtesy Monalisa Sembor

Later, when she first began modelling, at a shoot for a major international shampoo brand, people made rude remarks. “How come you are a main talent?” one person asked. “You have dark skin and your hair is curly,” the person added, echoing discriminatory language often levelled at Papuans in other parts of the country.

Now Sembor is proud of her hair, and she started a campaign on Instagram, #SavePapuanCurls, so her 68,000 followers will see that curls do not need “fixing”. She has posted more than 700 photos of herself posing, showing off her glowing dark skin and big, curly hair. Using her Instagram presence, Sembor wants to convey a message of self-acceptance.