Beautiful, but deadly

Women of all ages want to look beautiful and never want to grow old. The recent developments in science, particularly in the field of cosmetic surgery, allow women to maintain their youth by undergoing what they think are simple procedures.

Even though we always hated those wicked Disney step-mothers, such as that of Snow White, who never wanted to grow old, we aren’t being fair in judging them. In reality, many women undergo cosmetic surgery to look younger, whether it is a wrinkle surgery or excess skin-removal surgery. Why do women need to undergo such painful surgical procedures just to look good? Are looks the only thing left to be worried about? Or has our society stopped accepting people the way they naturally are?

Recently, a Brazilian model passed away after undergoing a cosmetic procedure to remove wrinkles. The 28-year-old, Raquel dos Santos, was a finalist in a national beauty contest, but she died from a heart attack after receiving an acid injection. The doctor operating on her had not specialised in cosmetic surgery.

Raquel was unable to fulfill her dream of winning the pageant and paid for it with her life. According to the Brazilian Plastic Surgery Society, Brazil has the second-highest number of cosmetic surgery operations per year across the globe. If we glance towards our part of the world, there are so many idols who have participated in this same cruel scheme of cosmetic surgeries. One of the biggest examples among them is Anushka Sharma. The Indian actress underwent a lip-enhancement surgery and subsequently received a lot of criticism from her fans. There are many such cases in Pakistan as well, but the clandestine system of cosmetic surgeries here makes it difficult to give specific examples. Changing the dynamics of one’s face is considered to be a trend in the glamour world. But unfortunately, there is nothing glamorous about this ‘glamour’ world.

Aging is a beautiful and natural procedure and one should not go against nature, especially when it turns out to be painful and puts your life at risk. After all, living a healthy life is way better than undergoing a cosmetic surgery just to maintain physical appearances.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2016.