South Asia's Obsession with "White"

South Asians are obsessed with fair skin, like really really obsessed.

If you look at Pakistani & Indian advertisements, celebrities or media in general. You might think that in order to be successful and happy in these countries you must be fair skinned. The quest for light skin has become an integral part of South Asian culture.

Girls are told to stay out of the Sun while parents start using home remedies to lighten their children's skin before they can even speak.

This preference for light-skinned is called colorism, discrimination against individuals with dark skin tones.

This is South Asia's most common form of internalized racism, so what are the origins of colorism in the Subcontinent? 

Contrary to popular belief the preference for fair skinned has been prevalent in Subcontinent before colonial times. 

Academics have traced the roots of colorism back to the Hindu caste system. The upper caste referred as Brahmin were usually lighter skinned since they stayed indoors but the lower caste the Shudras had to work outdoors and were therefore dark-skinned.

Subsequently lighter skin became associated with wealth, privilege and superiority.

This association with classism or discrimination based on class was further reinforced when the fair-skinned British colonized the Subcontinent. 
The psychological impact of colorism runs way deeper than we might realize. 

Colorism effectively conditions darker-skinned people to hate themselves, and it's this self-hatred that the skin lightening industry takes advantage of. In fact, four years back the global skin lightening industry was worth a whopping seventeen point nine billion dollars and its value is projected to increase dramatically.

In the next decade in South Asia fairness creams, bleach and lightening injections are commonly used by both men and women. Moreover, many salons and barbershops incorporate bleach in treatments without even informing customers. Even fairness creams made by reputable companies are terrible for skin. 

Side effects of lightning or whitening creams are several.

It can do epidermal thinning. Which can pin out your epidermal cells and then your skin can become very sensitive and then in the long run it can give you pigmentation and it can become itchy & swelling. It can also do hypo pigmentation. 

These whitening products have mercury in them. Liquid mercury is extremely harmful. It can damage your nerves, your brain activity, your liver and your kidneys because of the absorption power. Anyone in contact with such skin can also get mercury poisoning. 

So, is there any way to stop the fairness juggernaut? 

Several campaigns challenging colorism have recently popped up across the Subcontinent. Some Pakistanis are pushing for more inclusivity and encouraging people to appreciate their natural skin.

But it will take time to overturn racist and classist stereotypes and get us out of this fair-skinned complex. What we can expect from our governments is to regulate cosmetic products to protect consumers from the dark side of fairness creams.
This harmful skin whitening business must be stopped now.