#UnfairAndLovely Campaign Empowers Dark-Skinned South Asians, One Selfie At A Time
Showbiz Mar 12, 2016
Dark is beautiful too! People of colour are uniting all over the world to celebrate #UnfairAndLovelyWeek.
It's quite a shame that in the 21st Century, when global education and economic growth are at an all-time high, cultural beauty standards remain unchanged. All over the world, especially in South Asia, beauty is only associated with fair skin.
Feb 22, 2016 at 5:32pm PST
The fight against melanin starts at a young age. South Asian boys and girls are told not play out in the sun to avoid a tan. They're advised to bathe in milk and apply tomato or lemon juice to their faces. Family members and friends come up with unique concoctions like turmeric and yogurt masks or rice flour and milk paste to battle dark skin tones.
Photo Credit: www.heartranjan.com
Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka all exhibit extreme colourism. Dark-skinned men and women find it hard to find a partner or even land a job! Well, now is the time to put an end to this discrimination.
mirusha being unfair and lovely with her hyphenated identity #unfairandlovely
Mar 4, 2016 at 2:40pm PST
Three students from the University of Texas, the Yogarajah sisters of Sri Lankan descent and Pax, who is Black, joined together to celebrate dark skin with the social media campaign #UnfairAndlovely while celebrating International Women's Day.
The hashtag is a direct insult to South Asia's largest fairness cream brand, Fair And Lovely, which has dominated TV with its humiliating ads targeting dark-skinned individuals for far too long.
The campaign encourages women of colour from South Asian, Latin and Black communities to post selfies celebrating self-love with #UnfairAndlovely. This year, Reclaim the Bindi Week, a campaign celebrating South Asian pride, is collaborating with the #UnfairAndLovely campaign to combat colourism in South Asian communities March 8–14.
And it doesn't stop at women! Fairness creams also target at men and are a big business in South Asia.
Photo Credit: www.bbc.com
Thousands of people have taken to Twitter and Instagram to share their stories and stand up to colourism. Although the #UnfairAndLovely campaign won't change a deeply rooted cultural beauty standard overnight, it definitely raises awareness and brings hope and strength to address the issue.
Main Image Photo Credit: www.instagram.com
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Naemah Abid
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Born in Saudi Arabia and originally from Pakistan, this Canadian immigrant is all too familiar with airport life. After taking her first pleasure trip abroad post-graduation, Naemah was hit with the travel bug. Find this frequent traveller sharing pictures and experiences, offering up advice and tra...
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