Colourism in Pakistan

As I landed in Karachi fresh from the United States, my drive from the airport to home was disconcerting. I was ecstatic to be back but a billboard featuring Zubaida Apa disturbed me. “Gora hoga Pakistan,” it read, alongside advertising her fairness soap. I’m upset that skin colour clearly divides us in terms of physical beauty. I’m upset that being a lighter shade of brown is always admired in our country.

With Zubaida Apa, who is an inspiration to women of all classes in Pakistan, endorsing the notion that fairness is a prerequisite to find suitors and climbing the ladder to success is offensive and disrespectful. Also, I’m upset that I’m judged when I tell people I’m an ardent fan of Kanye West. All that being said — we are obviously a racist society. When an entire portion of people are systematically oppressed and denied opportunities or reverence based on colour — that is racism.

As I mature, I’m beginning to realise the cruel truths of the world, the horrible injustices done to people by their own people. A great part of me wants to believe that people are good. This is perhaps awfully naive of me, and may be what eventually destroys me. Or perhaps this is the only thing that has kept me alive. I find people to be a mix of horrifying, fascinating, and brilliant. I think it is a rather dangerous combination and lines are almost always crossed when it comes to colourism in Pakistan. We possess the ability to love and hate without any restraint, and somehow, for some reason, it is totally okay to portray the darker individual as being unattractive. We are more than the colour of our skin. I do not want our future generations to have to worry about being dark, or to be told that they need to ‘amend’ their skin colour to appear superior.

I urge everyone who’s reading this to embrace their colour and appreciate people, no matter what they look like. God made us all beautiful, no matter what our skin tones. There’s a reason why all the flowers in the world aren’t the same colour — do we not love purple orchids and crimson hibiscus? Don’t we appreciate roses of all shades? That’s because that’s how they were meant to be — beautiful and unique in their own skin.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2015.