Is colourism, sexism still a thing? Sara Tendulkar, Suhana Khan become victims of Indian misogyny

Actor Shah Rukh Khan and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s daughters Suhana Khan and Sara Tendulkar became victims of Indian misogyny, sexism and colourism at a Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Mumbai Indians (MI) IPL match held on Sunday in Mumbai.

While Sara came out to support her younger brother, Arjun Tendulkar, who was making his debut with Mumbai Indians, Suhana was cheering for the KKR team. The duo was seen sporting their respective team jerseys, soaking up the excitement of the game from the stands – minding their own business.

However, in a deplorable turn of events, a Twitter user decided to pit the two women against each other and pass judgement on their appearance. “This (Sara) is beauty. What the **** is this (Suhana)?” they wrote.

The tweet caused an uproar among users on the micro-blogging site who were quick to denounce the tweet as “sexist” and “uncalled for”. Many also expressed their disapproval of Indian society's fixation on fair skin, often equating it with beauty – even in 2023.

A user shared that such unnecessary comparisons are why celebrities like privacy for their kids. "This is the reason why many celebrities don't want to show their children's faces to the public. Can't believe colourism still exists in this country," read the tweet. “Virat would be ashamed if he sees this," said another one, highlighting that the person who originally started the comparison is a Kohli fan.

A tweep called out the user for enabling beauty standards by calling fair skin “beauty” and adding a puke emoji to “dusty skin.”

Another called out the hypocrisy of Indian fans. “You hate on their dark skin now but when they go for surgeries and skin whitening, you guys troll them by calling them plastic,” wrote a user, adding that Nysa Devgn faced the same hatred and trolling.

“It’s the society which forces them to change themselves according to its beauty standards. I’m glad Suhana never went for skin whitening like other Bollywood people,” read the tweet.

Another user demanded people move past “outdated notions of beauty” and focus on “celebrating the accomplishments of women.” Several users also asked trolls to “treat women with respect” and not reduce them to their looks.

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