Fair & Lovly

Subject: Fair & Lovly Fri May 09, 2008 1:49 am

When Rabeya came out into the yard carrying tea for the guests, without lifting her eyes she could feel the eyes set on her creamy dark skin so prominent against the synthetic cr?me sari that had not lost its magnificent paleness in 12 years. After the guests had left Rabeya starts washing the dishes as she tries to ignore the continuous pouring of harsh comments from her mother with the sound of the running water from the tap.

Rabeya is 31 years old, well past society?s sell-by-date. The dinner was one of many dinners where yet another man had rejected her family?s marriage proposal. She was still wearing the cr?me synthetic sari her father bought her when she was 19 for her first marriage proposal.

Rabeya comes out of the kitchen and passes by her father, Azizur Rahman, who numbly sits on his bed. His pension fund is fast decreasing. His daughter dropped out of school long time ago, because her father could not afford a college education for her. His plan had been to marry his daughter off and together with his wife and enjoy his pension. He no longer dreams of spoiling his grandchildren. Now he has three mouths to feed, whatsmore his daughter is very insecure about her ?dark? complexion. As a single woman she could be preyed on by men.

Rabeya looks at herself through her small old mirror. She remembers as a young girl how she tried to scrape off her moila (dirty) skin. Nothing worked. Like a persistent lover, one who stalked her whole life, her skin remained as dark as she was the day she was born.

The soft rays of the late afternoon sunlight fall on her face. In Bengali they call that light as the ?bride viewing light?. It is said that the light makes every bride look even more beautiful. No one is watching Rabeya in this light but herself.

Rabeya takes off her sari. She looks closely through the mirror. She sees no beauty, only her cursed murky skin.

The next few things happen fast and quietly. She brings a chair and sets it right underneath the ceiling fan. Then she ties one end of the synthetic sari with the fan, and the other end around her neck. Finally she drops the chair aside with her feet.

Her old parents ignore the muted sounds mistaking it for a spinster?s weeping.

Skin lightening products continue to be one of the fasting growing beauty products in the Indian sub-continent, the Middle East, Africa and among African Americans. Unilever, the makers of Fair and Lovely, have claimed that they regularly receive correspondence from mothers whose daughters could have had ?the cursed life of a spinster?s.? The obvious cause of this phenomenon is the deeply rooted social stigma attached with dark skin. In Bangladesh a fair skinned person is often praised and compared with a Sahib (an English man) or Pathan (a Pakistani), establishing the superiority of both the groups of people that ruled Bangladesh.

Whereas, dark is considered moila meaning ?dirty?, fair skin still continues to be a representative of the higher class members that do not need to work out in the fields. Girls in India and Bangladesh are often asked not be out in the sun since their skin will darken. Fair skin is reminder of the high caste in India who are generally wealthier and more educated as they spend time inside studying and not needing to work.

Fair and Lovely and other such products have become so commonplace that even women who are not considered dark use bleaching creams continuing to reinforce the belief that a skin tone darker than ?white? is ?less valuable.?

In these parts of the world, Fair and Lovely advertisements frequently aired on television show a young woman rejected in a job interview or denied by the man she fancies because she is ?dark". An infamous advert , which caught the eye of feminists, shows a young woman who following a rejection in a job interview says, ??the obstacle is my skin?. Lo and behold as soon as she uses ?Fair and lovely?, this simple cream comes to her rescue and she not only attains her dream job, but she is also asked out by a handsome man.

'Verily I look at the heart of a believer'

'On the day of Judgment, the only people that will gain, are the ones who bring forth a 'sound heart' Qalb un saleem '

Subject: Re: Fair & Lovly Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:39 pm

You are the most wonderful girl in this forum
thaaaaaax alot thanks alot
i love you in god
may allah bless you

Subject: Re: Fair & Lovly Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:41 pm

really wonderful sis kawther
may allah bless u

Subject: Re: Fair & Lovly Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:15 am

thanks alot dear hot i love u to in the sake af allah

thanks my dear aya

may allah bless u both amin