Being Dark Skinned in Beirut
The politics and culture of skin bleaching in Sudan
09/12/2013
News
Must-read piece. Expect sadness and heart-ache.
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She is in her twenties, confident and good looking. She applied for a job as a presenter at a local television station in Sudan. Following her interview, the station called her and told her: “you did very well, though you have one problem. You are too dark… but this could easily be fixed”. The television stations cover the cost of bleaching for its women presenters. In another incident, a young woman applied to the police college, and during the interview a woman police brigadier who was part of the interview committee looked at her and said “you are too dark …untie your scarf for us to see if you have good hair or if your hair is like your skin”.
She is in her twenties, confident and good looking. She applied for a job as a presenter at a local television station in Sudan. Following her interview, the station called her and told her: “you did very well, though you have one problem. You are too dark… but this could easily be fixed”. The television stations cover the cost of bleaching for its women presenters. In another incident, a young woman applied to the police college, and during the interview a woman police brigadier who was part of the interview committee looked at her and said “you are too dark …untie your scarf for us to see if you have good hair or if your hair is like your skin”.
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Full piece on opendemocracy
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