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How does it matter what a woman's body color is? How does that determine her life or future? It is time we stopped judging women based on these outdated ideas.
How does it matter what a woman’s body color is? How does that determine her life or future? It is time we stopped judging women based on these outdated ideas.
“What would you have tea or coffee?” Nancy’s mom asked Meeta, her sister-in-law who had come home to invite her for her daughter’s ring ceremony. “I will go for your special masala ginger tea,” she replied.
Nancy’s mom walked towards the kitchen to bring some snacks and tea. Suddenly Nancy came and hugged her aunt and asked her about her well-being. After spending some time with her aunt, Nancy asked for leave as she was getting late for her basketball practice sessions.
“So how’s the engagement preparation going on?” Nancy’s mom asked Meeta while serving her tea and snacks.
“All going well. Why don’t you ask Nancy to do something for her skin? Haven’t you noticed Nancy has turned darker these days than usual? Why don’t you ask her to apply good face brightening creams?”
She continued to give a string of advice on how to become fair – including facials, applying mud packs, turmeric, saffron, bleaching skin regularly,…
Nancy’s mom then looked at her, smiled and asked Meeta how her daughter’s body color matters.
Meeta said, “Do you know Guptaji’s daughter, she has turned 30 and is still unmarried because of her dark color. Many families have rejected her because of her dark color. I don’t want the same to happen with Nancy, that’s the reason I am saying all this”.
Hearing this Nancy’s mom laughed loudly and said, “Meeta, which century you are living in? My daughter is an MBA and a state level champion in basketball. She is responsible, well-educated, and she knows how to take care of everyone. I am proud of her. Her body color has nothing to do with her marriage.”
Meeta said, “Whatever you say looks good on television and in books only. No matter which century you are living in. Our society wants a bahu (daughter-in-law) who is beautiful and fair, it doesn’t matter whether she is a basketball champion or an MBA. The first criteria a family looks for is a fair and beautiful girl, not a dark colored girl”.
Nancy’s mom said, “Well, I don’t agree with you!” She silently took the cup and went towards the kitchen thinking – is Meeta right?
Well, the answer is yes…We talk modernization. But the fact is, even in this century we witness that girls are judged based on their color tone, no matter how educated, talented and responsible the girl is. Many times girls with a dark complexion get advice from some aunt or so-called beauty expert on how to become fair. In some families, women with a dark complexion are considered as a bad omen/ unlucky (hats off to superstitious belief), and they are often denied for marriage (which leads to humiliation in women).
Will a body color decide with whom she will be going to share her life? When will this color based judging end?
A woman is beautiful by her nature, character, talent and capabilities. A fair and bright skin makes her only superficially attractive, not beautiful. Every woman is beautiful in her own way. Color has nothing to do with her future.
Who has given this right to society to judge a woman based on her body color?
Stop Judging! Her body color doesn’t decide her marriage and future. She is free to live her life, the way she wants to live. Let her live freely.
Published here earlier.
Image source: shutterstock
An HR Professional, A Practising Pranic Healer & Arhatic Yogi, A Reiki Healer, A Certified Angel Card Reader & An Aspiring Blogger…. read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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