TVCs and skin colour

Dwelling in a country where women face lots of problems, discrimination based on skin colour is a major one, too. Since I was a child, I was made to term myself as dark-skinned. And it sounded like an insult. People around me would always tell me so. Now that I have become an adult and understood racism, it is extremely disappointing to see young girls being treated the same way.

There are many women advising other girls to apply products that whiten the skin. For instance, bleaching creams or using whitening creams regularly is often recommended to lighten the skin. It is a trend that has been followed for many years and seems as if it will stick with us in the coming years, too. And in the middle, some beauty product companies are doing their business. Additionally, celebrities working in the media highlight the baseless significance of white skin through television commercials (TVCs). Such TVCs must be censored. I think it is extremely important to create awareness among women and girls that this is only a fraud to sell products. We must not forget that we are all beautiful in our own ways.

Afroza Sheikh,

Dania, Dhaka,

ilcbd2008@gmail.com