Racism In Pakistan

For a country whose population consists of primarily dark-skinned people, Pakistan seems to be obsessed with light-skin. In light of all the #blacklivesmatter protests happening around the world, let’s reflect on how far the Pakistani community has come in overcoming racial discrimination. 

Over the past few weeks, thousands of Pakistanis rushed to social media platforms to stand in support of black lives and how colour does not reflect a person's worth and it was commendable to see the community come forward with their support. However, I fear it was mostly a trend following since only a few may have actually reflected into their own possibly discriminatory lifestyles where anyone with a darker toned skin is treated inferiorly, where young girls with lighter skin are often preferred for match-making and jobs, where an entire person's worth is based upon the colour of their skin. Whitening creams advertisements and tutorials run rampant on channels and are used by a huge part of the population to lighten their skin tone in order to be considered better by society. In recent news, Unilever stated that in its marketing campaign for ‘Fair and Lovely’, it will stop using terms such as ‘whitening’ and will be more inclusive of other skin tones. Even though it has been propagating ‘whiteness’ for years, this is a step in the right direction. 

The worst side of racism is seen by Pakistanis of African descent. The Sheedi community descended from slaves brought to the Indian subcontinent from East Africa and till today they are marginalised for their right to education and jobs amongst other things. Their children are labelled as slaves and bullied in schools to an extent where they refuse to go anymore.

Tanzeela Qambrani, a member of the Sindh provincial assembly and also a descendant of the community, rose to the position in 2018 but it wasn’t without backlash. In a recent TEDx talk in Lahore, she speaks about how the people refused to ‘take orders from a Sheedi, middle-class woman and a slave's daughter’. This goes to show that till today, racism is so deep rooted in us. Despite all odds, she is actively working to educate people around her. She successfully passed a resolution wherefore educators are punished for their racist behaviour towards Sheedi students and her dedication to the cause gives us hope.  

The challenge lies in changing mindsets and freeing ourselves of biases. To end on a positive note, I do feel the current generation is progressively erasing certain unconscionable prejudices that often exist without conscious realization. From removing barriers of racism by changing their own perspectives to educating others via social media platforms and donating to organisations worldwide, the future seems hopeful.