Sadia Kabeya embraces her natural hair to inspire others

Discovering a love for arcades was not the most important part of Sadia Kabeya’s injury rehab.

Hamstring and ankle injuries kept the flanker out of Loughborough Lightning’s Premiership Women’s Rugby campaign until November.

But her return to full form in African violet has also seen her embrace her natural hair as she looks to show others they can too.

“During my rehab I was doing bits of coaching here and there in a few clubs up in the Midlands, it is always nice to stay around rugby,” the Red Rose said.

“I was being the ultimate fan girl watching Lightning and England played. I did lots of cooking, I love cooking and I love the cinema as well.

“My newest thing is that I would always go to the arcade with my friends, we would find really big arcades and go and spend an hour or two in the arcade. If you are injured, I would really recommend it!

“And then, I had always wanted to go on a natural hair journey, especially over the past two or three years but have never stuck to it.

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“But the nail in the coffin was when I got injured, I actually had my natural hair and I decided I needed to get my hair done because I felt like I needed something to make me happy and make me feel pretty. 

“On reflection, I thought I needed to have extensions in my hair and braids in my hair to make me feel happy. That was the moment where I thought ‘Sadia, something needs to change here’.” 

The turn of the year marked Kabeya’s commitment to wear her hair natural in 2025, and she is holding herself accountable by documenting it on her social media. 

The 22-year-old is not the only member of Lightning’s squad with an interest in hair, as Kabeya's fellow forward Elis Martin has a series called the Plait Room where she does her teammates' hair while having meaningful conversations. 

Kabeya added: “The main thing for me is the more you speak about, the more it sparks conversations, because if you don't know, you don’t know.  

“I have had really interesting conversation with people who have questions or who have friends with similar experiences. It has opened up that space to feel comfortable.  

“People are from so many different areas and there are so many cultural differences, and rugby is the one thing that brings us together.

“So, by me being able to be open, it allows others to be open, and the conversations have been really good.” 

Rugby fans would have first caught sight of Kabeya with her natural hair in the 2024 Six Nations, but this year’s edition of the tournament will see the South London native embrace it much more. 

As a high-profile black woman in rugby, she recognises her position to inspire and normalise players with afro hair. 

But Kabeya is not just serving as a visible role model, she is actively working to help others as she is in collaboration with Gilbert to make a satin scrum cap for those with afro and curly hair. 

“I’m now in a place where I am more confident and feel very privileged to be in a place where I can affect younger girls watching me,” she said. 

“Even sitting down and making that video, I would have loved to have seen this when I was 12 or 13 or even younger than that, to have seen someone feeling the same way as me. 

“There are people feeling the same way as me because I grew up around those girls, all my friends had those same feelings.

“Rugby is not the most glamorous sport, you are putting your head in places it doesn’t want to go so for me, my hair was something I could use to counteract that.

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“It was long and that meant I could play rugby and be aggressive but my hair would give me that feminine aspect and that was what I thought the long hair was for.  

“Wearing my short hair in rugby with the scrum cap was huge for me. I only wore the scrum cap with my long hair, so I had the hair sticking out the back but now I am breaking down that barrier.  

“I am wearing the scrum cap for my hair but also to help with my rugby. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, I am not here for a fashion show, but if I can wear it and feel confident in it, then someone else can see that and have the confidence to wear theirs.”