There are many of us that shudder in horror as we are subjected to ads of a beautiful young girl get rejected, lighten her skin and then magically get the job, the guy and the picture perfect finish. But for every cringe there are thousands of wistful sighs from women across the nation who have just been convinced that their dark complexion is ruining their lives. There have been many ‘dusky’ celebrities who are very outspoken about ending this phenomenon but yesterday the cause acquired a new champion in the form of Viplove Thakur, an MP from Himachal Pradesh who spoke out for a ban on the advertising of fairness products during a Rajya Sabha session.
She pointed out that in a country where we uphold racial acceptance the mere existence of these ‘whitening creams’ creates an atmosphere of discrimination. She also condemned the effect these products have on the mental health and happiness of women. ‘Why should we sell ideas to women that give them complexes? India is a vast country with different geographical and weather conditions. People will have different skin colours. The basic idea of these advertisements is to create a complex in the minds of women and demean those with a darker skin colour.’ she told Indian Express. She also pointed out that the products, while popular, had never been properly tested and called out the companies for their false advertising.
Her call for the ban received a lot of support, both within the house and with the public. The Twitterverse got in on the action when News 18 tweeted the story with the caption “In a bizarre statement, Congress MP demanded a ban on sale of fairness creams says it is demeaning for women”. The tweet has since been removed but people were confused about why the statement was deemed ‘bizarre’ and backed Thakur and her opinion.
She hopes her statement will continue to yield a positive reaction and that whitening products will take a new, healthier stance in their advertising because as she says ‘The companies are free to have their products, but the way they sell it, the idea they promote, that is bad. Telling someone that they can improve their looks by whitening their skin is not advisable.’ Now that we have a strong woman in a position of power backing this belief, perhaps it will actually mean a positive change for the future of this deplorable industry.
Featured Image Courtesy: thequint.com
Words: Shireen Jamooji