THE FAIR VS DARK CONTROVERSY

The recent comments by the Kerala Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan calling out discrimination on the ground of colour and gender has sparked off an interesting debate, both on social media and mainstream.

- PRIYA SAHGAL

This is a discrimination, especially on the ground of skin colour, something that we saw – and still see – very often during matrimonial advertisements and on the ground too, within our homes when girls are cautioned against staying in the sun for too long and to use creams that will add some degree of fairness to their complexions.

The Kerala Chief Secretary was calling out a colleague who had linked her work to the colour of her skin, saying that her work was as dark (i.e. not up to the mark) as her skin, while her husband (who is of a fairer complexion) was fair, as was his work.