People Are Pissed After Pakistani Show Used Fair Models To Showcase Makeup For Dark Girls

People all over the world have had a very unhealthy obsession with fair skin for a disturbingly long time. Despite all the social movements to raise awareness, it doesn’t look like this will be changing anytime soon. However, the outrage against ‘blackface‘, the act of a light-skinned person trying to emulate a darker skin tone is at an all-time peak. And this time it’s from Pakistan.

A popular Pakistani morning TV show recently aired a segment with the aim of showcasing appropriate makeup looks for dark skin tones. However, there was nothing appropriate about what followed.

HUM TV’s morning show “JAGO PAKISTAN JAGO” showcased a segment called “Mera Makeup Hai Kamaal”. Here are a few pictures, if you don’t believe me:

1. I’m sorry, what were you thinking??

2. The rest of their body doesn’t even match their face!

3. Did it really not cross your mind as to how atrocious this looks?

Needless to say, viewers were outraged at the outcome of the segment and took to the show’s Facebook post to express their displeasure. 

1. Calling them out for what it is.

2. This brings to light the underlying mentality.

3. Television has truly reached an all-time low.

4. Racism closer to home.

Even Pakistani illustrator Saher a.k.a thepakistanimarthastewart, took to Instagram to call out the show and their regressive act.

View this post on Instagram

Jago pakistan Jago… WHAT.WERE.YOU.THINKING…………………..I really tried liking morning shows in Pakistan, honestly I did try. My mom has them on all the time. I came across the show Jago Pakistan Jago with the host Sanum Jung. When some of you shared this with me, I honest to god couldn't believe it. Like in my head I was like, there's got to be something I'm missing here, they're not THIS blatantly ignorant or stupid for that matter. They took fair skinned girls and literally painted their faces darker with a foundation to prove good makeup could also be done on darker skinned brides. My question is Sanam @jung_sanam , was it really that hard to find darker skinned models to do makeup on? This is a caricature like scenario, you've painted on a much darker face onto fair skinned girls, look at their hands and their arms. It's like you're purposefully and intentionally making them look comical. How is this not something close to #blackface. I'm going to ask you the same question I asked a brand last week, how did you let this happen? How is this appropriate? How did you let this go live even? If you really had good intentions about darker skin tones and how makeup should be done, you and I both know well this wasn't the way to do it. Rather you have contributed to an already disgusting sentiment in our society about darker skin tones in a fair skin obsessed pakistan. I don't even want to get started on how cringy the actual SHOW SEGMENT was. So let me repeat the title, Jago Pakistan Jago. "WAKE UP" PAKISTAN. #irritated

A post shared by Saher (@thepakistanimarthastewart) on Mar 14, 2018 at 8:50pm PDT

 

But just when you think they might learn something from the collective reaction, the TV show has since deleted the controversial images and the negative comments from their original Facebook post.

Even in 2018, people choose to hide such acts instead of apologising and taking responsibility for their mistakes. If we do not own up to our mistakes, what are we teaching our future generation? Just as the internet has the power to be malignant and harsh at times, I hope it is also used to educate and inform. Racism is not okay. Not in the West or the East, not anywhere. It’s about time we learned this.

Here’s hoping.