ellauri108.html on line 133: Some Rastas have promoted activism as a means of achieving socio-political reform, while others believe in awaiting change that will be brought about through divine intervention in human affairs. In Jamaica, Rastas typically do not vote, derogatorily dismissing politics as "politricks", and rarely involve themselves in political parties or unions. The Rasta tendency to believe that socio-political change is inevitable opens the religion up to the criticism from the political left that it encourages adherents to do little or nothing to alter the status quo. Other Rastas do engage in political activism; the Ghanaian Rasta singer-songwriter Rocky Dawuni for instance was involved in campaigns promoting democratic elections, while in Grenada, many Rastas joined the People's Revolutionary Government formed in 1979.
ellauri108.html on line 193: The wearing of dreadlocks has contributed to negative views of Rastafari among non-Rastas, many of whom regard it as wild and unattractive. Dreadlocks remain socially stigmatised in many societies; in Ghana for example, they are often associated with the homeless and mentally ill, with such associations of marginality extending onto Ghanaian Rastas. In Jamaica during the mid-20th century, teachers and police officers used to forcibly cut off the dreads of Rastas. In various countries, Rastas have since won legal battles ensuring their right to wear dreadlocks: in 2020, for instance, the High Court of Malawi ruled that all public schools must allow their students to wear dreadlocks.
ellauri108.html on line 268: Some Rastas in the African diaspora have followed through with their beliefs about resettlement in Africa, with Ghana and Nigeria being particularly favoured. In West Africa, Rastafari has spread largely through the popularity of reggae, gaining a larger presence in Anglophone areas than their Francophone counterparts. Caribbean Rastas arrived in Ghana during the 1960s, encouraged by its first post-independence president, Kwame Nkrumah, while some native Ghanaians also converted to the religion. The largest congregation of Rastas has been in southern parts of Ghana, around Accra, Tema, and the Cape Coast, although Rasta communities also exist in the Muslim-majority area of northern Ghana. The Rasta migrants' wearing of dreadlocks was akin to that of the native fetish priests, which may have assisted the presentation of these Rastas as having authentic African roots in Ghanaian society. However, Ghanaian Rastas have complained of social ostracism and prosecution for cannabis possession, while non-Rastas in Ghana often consider them to be "drop-outs", "too Western", and "not African enough".
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