Pakistan Defence
Unfair treatment
Two self-inflicted anxieties dominate the psyche of men and women in Pakistan. The perception among the women is that their beauty is directly proportional to the fairness of their skin, and the widespread fear among the men is about their congenital impotence. The disorder of the first category has created a phenomenal combination for commerce and chemicals to find their final destination on the faces of wannabe fair ladies of Pakistan.
From the multinationals at one end to the village-based industries at the other, we produce 164 brands of skin-whitening creams that promise not just fairness but also a fast-track marriage. The Pakistani market, television and billboards are inundated with advertisements of fairness creams. In all fairness, most do not deliver on what they promise. There is enough medical information available that suggests that, laden with mercury, bleach and other chemicals, some of these creams are in fact damaging to the skin and can have long-term harmful consequences.
The second category of inferiority complex relates to the centuries-old perception that, regardless of their macho appearances and utterances, most men in fact suffer from a disease called male weakness or masculine weakness. This disease is so acute and demands such urgent attention that walls all along the main roads from Karachi to Khyber are plastered with information giving graphic details of these alleged weaknesses and the addresses of those who can promptly cure them.
While the products for fairer complexion for women and those for removal of male (or masculine) weakness may be totally unrelated, both have some striking similarities. Both are based on skin-deep perceptions and values. Both appeal to the insecurity of the ignorant. Both promise rapid accomplishments. Both talk of a success rate in terms of days, rather than weeks or months. Both have questionable ethics behind them and both have a potential for fakeness, fraud, and harm. Interestingly, the awe of the white and the complex of weakness are also reflected in our foreign policy.
So what is wrong with the womens dream to whiten their complexion and mens desire for removal of their weaknesses? Let us look at the bigger picture. The corporate sector and the media have got together to promote a skin-deep and debasing value of female beauty and superiority based on the colour of a womans skin. This unfair and unethical approach is driven by the singular motive of making money at the cost of ignorant complexion-conscious females. The possible harmful effects of these creams are never spelled out. The product description is often carefully wrapped in buzzwords such as Skin Lightening technology that synergistically integrates Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide) with UVB and UVC sunscreens. The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has never bothered to analyse these products and make public their contents. Doctors and medical associations have not felt it necessary to raise their voice on an issue which concerns public health, as well as bioethics.
Are these whitening creams consistent with organisations much advertised Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? Also, why are the hakeems, veds, saniasi babas, and other quacks and frauds allowed to dupe the public with their harmful gimmicks? There is a need to bring these issues out of the closet and discuss them in public, with facts, figures, laboratory reports and expert opinions, so as to highlight the truth behind these questionable products and practices.
As one of its tasks, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) must play its role in combating quackery. Unfortunately, on July 12, a bill which was not even on parliaments agenda was presented and passed without any discussion. Under this hurriedly passed bill, the PMDC was unceremoniously dissolved, which took away the distant hope one might have had to see an end to these malpractices. Must we take a cue from the fake degrees of our parliamentarians, and mould our laws for promotion of the rule of the quacks.
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Who is the Fairest of them All?
Staring back at me from the mirror is a dark and skinny oval face, everything that is considered taboo in Pakistan’s bridal market. I curse my genes and hold my ancestors culpable for the atavistic ability of excessive melanin production in my skin cells. And then there is the scorching sun of Lahore that comes down with a vengeance to tan my skin as if I am the only Pakistani woman who needs natural Vitamin D to avoid rickets.
No matter what the amount of sun block and however high the SPF (Sun Block Factor) I slobber on my skin, ultra violet alpha and beta rays penetrate my skin to give it a brown shade so admired in the West but oh so booed in Pakistan. Little does the sun know the gold Brazilian skin is only good as long as it sprawls on the sparkling beaches of Los Angeles and Sao Paulo.
In Pakistan there is a growing clamor from the liberal segment of society about equality and fairness but ironically that equality is increasingly calibrated in terms of freedom for women being able to attire themselves in western apparel while fairness is dependent on the skin tone of the ‘fairer sex’, lighter the better. No one can deny the prevalent practice of mothers-in-law looking for a fair (nothing less than ‘snow white-part 2’ for my son-puhleez !) bride even for her crow-black, noir son for gripping fear of a progeny that fails to resemble our erstwhile gora sahibs.
Many a times rather every morning, late afternoon and night, flicking through internationally broadcast news, food, entertainment and sundry channels one finds, without failing, show hosts and guest-doctors (quacks to be more appropriate) discussing and exchanging desi totkay (recipes), creams and tricks to getting a fairer and ever whiter skin yet the salvo of ‘main kaisay rang gora karon? (How do I get a fairer skin?) query never ends. Under such demanding conditions, one must applaud the doctors’ perseverance and resolve in taking the responsibility of turning every girl into a geisha and epitome of pulchritude (of course all this depends on her color) with missionary zeal and utmost seriousness.
However, there is this profound phenomenon of the dito fairness quandary being asked by an exponentially growing number of female callers who still insist on asking it in their own words for some inexplicable personal satisfaction, as if that will somehow change the query. Miracle to magic is: the ‘talented doctor’ always has a varied answer ready. It’s as if he’s beauty’s Zubaida apa personified. Hence, the phones keep ringing and so does the clever doctor’s cash register.
For the unlucky ones, fear not, dear soon-to-be-brides and job-hunting girls who could not get their calls through to the learned charlatan-of-a-doctor on any of the gazillion morning shows; what with the lines being clogged as every Pakistani female jumps at the sight of the beautician cum erudite dermatologist with magic potions and trouble shooting manuals.
The fairness battle is not all lost yet. There are easy to use, off-the-shelf fairness creams custom manufactured for your specific skin type that promise to make you so white that every rishta wala visiting your residence the next time or the job interview where you previously failed to impress the recruiting staff with your skills and aptitude, will be so smitten and caught off guard that they will quickly give their nod of approval without so much as raising a finger.
You can have all your sweet revenge and wallow in your success to the dismay of your friends who thought you vacuous and bird-brained. You can thumb your nose at all the aunties and their daughters who previously rejected you for your color and not your homemaking skills which you will now have ample time to display by using every out-of-season and expensive vegetable and fruit on your face to retain your artificial fairness, oblivious to the fact the hole it will be burning in your husband’s pockets. Hell yeah! that’s only a fair price tag fair for a skin color that is so cherished and coveted in whole of Pakistan.
On a more serious note, one would imagine Pakistani society to be far less indulgent in racial and color discrimination due to the uniformity of being categorized as brown but it is shocking to discover just the opposite. Degenerating societal values that focus more on extraneous and superficial bearing have rendered people insensitive enough to openly use derogatory terms like ‘nigger’ to ridicule, separate, and remove oneself from an inferior with skin color being the sole determinant.
What stuns my comprehending abilities is the fact, how one can defy genetic and biological make up without addressing the protein-based nucleic acids whose combination determine among other characteristics our skin color. But then I recall our ability to invent cars run on water – an innovative milestone that defies the very principles of thermodynamics and by this very virtue has the potential to eclipse man’s first step on the moon and I become numb to the rationality of mutating into white ghosts by simple application of creams and fruits sprinkled with a healthy dose of whitening facials.
Yet the myth of being whiter than atta (flour) eludes us and we keep dialing away…
Aisha Ghumman
Two self-inflicted anxieties dominate the psyche of men and women in Pakistan. The perception among the women is that their beauty is directly proportional to the fairness of their skin, and the widespread fear among the men is about their congenital impotence. The disorder of the first category has created a phenomenal combination for commerce and chemicals to find their final destination on the faces of wannabe fair ladies of Pakistan.
From the multinationals at one end to the village-based industries at the other, we produce 164 brands of skin-whitening creams that promise not just fairness but also a fast-track marriage. The Pakistani market, television and billboards are inundated with advertisements of fairness creams. In all fairness, most do not deliver on what they promise. There is enough medical information available that suggests that, laden with mercury, bleach and other chemicals, some of these creams are in fact damaging to the skin and can have long-term harmful consequences.
The second category of inferiority complex relates to the centuries-old perception that, regardless of their macho appearances and utterances, most men in fact suffer from a disease called male weakness or masculine weakness. This disease is so acute and demands such urgent attention that walls all along the main roads from Karachi to Khyber are plastered with information giving graphic details of these alleged weaknesses and the addresses of those who can promptly cure them.
While the products for fairer complexion for women and those for removal of male (or masculine) weakness may be totally unrelated, both have some striking similarities. Both are based on skin-deep perceptions and values. Both appeal to the insecurity of the ignorant. Both promise rapid accomplishments. Both talk of a success rate in terms of days, rather than weeks or months. Both have questionable ethics behind them and both have a potential for fakeness, fraud, and harm. Interestingly, the awe of the white and the complex of weakness are also reflected in our foreign policy.
So what is wrong with the womens dream to whiten their complexion and mens desire for removal of their weaknesses? Let us look at the bigger picture. The corporate sector and the media have got together to promote a skin-deep and debasing value of female beauty and superiority based on the colour of a womans skin. This unfair and unethical approach is driven by the singular motive of making money at the cost of ignorant complexion-conscious females. The possible harmful effects of these creams are never spelled out. The product description is often carefully wrapped in buzzwords such as Skin Lightening technology that synergistically integrates Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide) with UVB and UVC sunscreens. The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has never bothered to analyse these products and make public their contents. Doctors and medical associations have not felt it necessary to raise their voice on an issue which concerns public health, as well as bioethics.
Are these whitening creams consistent with organisations much advertised Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? Also, why are the hakeems, veds, saniasi babas, and other quacks and frauds allowed to dupe the public with their harmful gimmicks? There is a need to bring these issues out of the closet and discuss them in public, with facts, figures, laboratory reports and expert opinions, so as to highlight the truth behind these questionable products and practices.
As one of its tasks, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) must play its role in combating quackery. Unfortunately, on July 12, a bill which was not even on parliaments agenda was presented and passed without any discussion. Under this hurriedly passed bill, the PMDC was unceremoniously dissolved, which took away the distant hope one might have had to see an end to these malpractices. Must we take a cue from the fake degrees of our parliamentarians, and mould our laws for promotion of the rule of the quacks.
================================================
Who is the Fairest of them All?
Staring back at me from the mirror is a dark and skinny oval face, everything that is considered taboo in Pakistan’s bridal market. I curse my genes and hold my ancestors culpable for the atavistic ability of excessive melanin production in my skin cells. And then there is the scorching sun of Lahore that comes down with a vengeance to tan my skin as if I am the only Pakistani woman who needs natural Vitamin D to avoid rickets.
No matter what the amount of sun block and however high the SPF (Sun Block Factor) I slobber on my skin, ultra violet alpha and beta rays penetrate my skin to give it a brown shade so admired in the West but oh so booed in Pakistan. Little does the sun know the gold Brazilian skin is only good as long as it sprawls on the sparkling beaches of Los Angeles and Sao Paulo.
In Pakistan there is a growing clamor from the liberal segment of society about equality and fairness but ironically that equality is increasingly calibrated in terms of freedom for women being able to attire themselves in western apparel while fairness is dependent on the skin tone of the ‘fairer sex’, lighter the better. No one can deny the prevalent practice of mothers-in-law looking for a fair (nothing less than ‘snow white-part 2’ for my son-puhleez !) bride even for her crow-black, noir son for gripping fear of a progeny that fails to resemble our erstwhile gora sahibs.
Many a times rather every morning, late afternoon and night, flicking through internationally broadcast news, food, entertainment and sundry channels one finds, without failing, show hosts and guest-doctors (quacks to be more appropriate) discussing and exchanging desi totkay (recipes), creams and tricks to getting a fairer and ever whiter skin yet the salvo of ‘main kaisay rang gora karon? (How do I get a fairer skin?) query never ends. Under such demanding conditions, one must applaud the doctors’ perseverance and resolve in taking the responsibility of turning every girl into a geisha and epitome of pulchritude (of course all this depends on her color) with missionary zeal and utmost seriousness.
However, there is this profound phenomenon of the dito fairness quandary being asked by an exponentially growing number of female callers who still insist on asking it in their own words for some inexplicable personal satisfaction, as if that will somehow change the query. Miracle to magic is: the ‘talented doctor’ always has a varied answer ready. It’s as if he’s beauty’s Zubaida apa personified. Hence, the phones keep ringing and so does the clever doctor’s cash register.
For the unlucky ones, fear not, dear soon-to-be-brides and job-hunting girls who could not get their calls through to the learned charlatan-of-a-doctor on any of the gazillion morning shows; what with the lines being clogged as every Pakistani female jumps at the sight of the beautician cum erudite dermatologist with magic potions and trouble shooting manuals.
The fairness battle is not all lost yet. There are easy to use, off-the-shelf fairness creams custom manufactured for your specific skin type that promise to make you so white that every rishta wala visiting your residence the next time or the job interview where you previously failed to impress the recruiting staff with your skills and aptitude, will be so smitten and caught off guard that they will quickly give their nod of approval without so much as raising a finger.
You can have all your sweet revenge and wallow in your success to the dismay of your friends who thought you vacuous and bird-brained. You can thumb your nose at all the aunties and their daughters who previously rejected you for your color and not your homemaking skills which you will now have ample time to display by using every out-of-season and expensive vegetable and fruit on your face to retain your artificial fairness, oblivious to the fact the hole it will be burning in your husband’s pockets. Hell yeah! that’s only a fair price tag fair for a skin color that is so cherished and coveted in whole of Pakistan.
On a more serious note, one would imagine Pakistani society to be far less indulgent in racial and color discrimination due to the uniformity of being categorized as brown but it is shocking to discover just the opposite. Degenerating societal values that focus more on extraneous and superficial bearing have rendered people insensitive enough to openly use derogatory terms like ‘nigger’ to ridicule, separate, and remove oneself from an inferior with skin color being the sole determinant.
What stuns my comprehending abilities is the fact, how one can defy genetic and biological make up without addressing the protein-based nucleic acids whose combination determine among other characteristics our skin color. But then I recall our ability to invent cars run on water – an innovative milestone that defies the very principles of thermodynamics and by this very virtue has the potential to eclipse man’s first step on the moon and I become numb to the rationality of mutating into white ghosts by simple application of creams and fruits sprinkled with a healthy dose of whitening facials.
Yet the myth of being whiter than atta (flour) eludes us and we keep dialing away…
Aisha Ghumman