Women Shave their Heads to Protest Mountain Top Removal Mining

A group of women shaved their heads Monday at the West Virginia Capitol to protest surface, mountain top removal mining. They say the shaving of their heads is symbolic of mountains that have been stripped of the things living on them, and that it’s symbolic of people who are sick or dying because of surface mining.

Event organizers used Facebook to promote their idea and it has attracted attention from across the country. The leader of this event, Marilyn Mullins, said the idea to do this came to her in a dream. She is inviting anyone – male or female – to join her.

A spokesman for the West Virginia Coal Association said he hadn’t heard about the protest and had no comment.