“SHE IS PRETTY FOR A DARK-SKINNED GIRL”,
AS IF PRETTY AND DARK WERE OPPOSING WORDS,
MY RELATION WITH MY COMPLEXION HAS BEEN A COMPLEX ONE,
MY SKIN DUSKY,
AS IF SCRUBBING COULD WASH AWAY MY HISTORY.
I GREW OLDER,
THE WORLD BECAME COLDER,
I COULDN’T UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR PEOPLE TO POINT IT OUT.
WHY WAS IT EVEN A MATTER OF DISCUSSION?
WAS MY COMPLEXION THE ONLY REASON I WAS MARKED IMPERFECTION.
I WAS TEASED, I WAS HUMILIATED
JUST BECAUSE OF THE MERE SIN OF BEING UNLIGHTED.
IN A COUNTRY LIKE INDIA YOUR COMPLEXION ISNT MERELY THE COLOUR OF YOUR SKIN
HERE IT REPRESENTS ONES TALENT, ONES INTELLIGENCE AND ONES FLAW.
DON’T YOU REALIZE,
HOW OVERDRAMATIZED IS THE WHOLE CORELATION ON COMPLEXION IN LIFE?
ESPECIALLY IN A COUNTRY LIKE INDIA,
WHERE ALL ITS PEOPLE ARE COLLECTIVELY TERMED AS BROWN BY THE REST OF THE WORLD.
TO A YOUNG GIRL BEING TEASED ABOUT HER COMPLEXTION,
DON’T THINK OF IT AS AN ABSCISSION BECAUSE IT ISNT,
YOUR OLIVE, TAN, CHOCOLATE OR EVEN PAKE SKIN DOESN’T DETERMNE YOUR SUCCESS,
MY COMPLEXION WASN’T AND WILL NEVER BE A BARRIER TO THE INCREDIBLE WOMAN I RECKON TO BE.
SO, THE NEXT TIME SOMEONE WANTS TO COMPLIMENT ME,
I WOULD REMIND THEM THAT,
“NO, I AM NOT PRETTY FOR A DARK- SKINNED GIRL, I AM JUST PRETTY.”