Rhian goes bald Amnesty International

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 womens 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 arbitrari