Do you know how many advertisements on face whitening creams run everyday on Pakistani television? That, my friends, is the perfect example of brainwashing.
Let me describe a typical ad. Girl likes boy. He rebuffs her advances initially. Her mother/well-meaning friend hand her a tube of something named brido whitening bleach or fair and lovely cream. She applies the lotion to her face and presto! She transforms into a lighter version of herself. When the boy sees her he instantly falls onto his knees and proposes marriage to her.
Lesson of the day? You will never get a husband if you don’t change yourself. Really because that’s the most important thing going on in our lives. We – as Pakistanis – are at the heart of the war on terrorism. We have a society segregated by class and wealth. We are dealing with our second bout of flooding in a short time frame and still repairing the lives of those who suffered in the earthquake. Our politicians keep getting assassinated and our economy is basically in the slums. Our streets are not safe for kids to play in and we do not have access to the local library unless we are an army family. We have to schedule outings and we do not need a curfew because we can not leave the house as we please. We have to face constant sexual harassment and abuse. We don’t learn an instrument or foreign language in school because our education systems are already working at highest capacity. There are still places in our city where people live in houses full of mud and it is not odd to be bombarded by a slew of beggars when you leave your home.
But lets not discontinue our daily beauty regimen, shall we?
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