Are multibillion-dollar industries promoting a major human rights crisis across the world? The issue of colourism

BY LA SHAWNA GRIFFITH

We have all heard the popular phrase, “It is not what you say but how you say it!” I believe this is especially true in the Caribbean. Many times we say things to others such as “Mi love ah browning, you dark as night, star-black, blackie chan etc,” without realizing that these phrases popular in the Caribbean are discriminatory and continue to perpetuate colourism.

This notion is why colourism in the Caribbean, which stems from the plantation society model, is still an on-going human rights issue because of how different colours of person are treated daily on the island.

In Jamaica, colourism is an issue throughout their community. The majority of Jamaican women find that the lighter they are the more they are accepted. Since the late 2000’s bleaching has been a common norm as Jamaican women think that they would be socially accepted in circles.

But why is colourism a human rights issue?

In an article by the United National Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner it stated that colourism leads to prejudice amongst persons of darker skin tones. “Sewell said that prejudice against darker skin tones has led to human rights challenges. Sewell recently launched a campaign in Jamaica to raise awareness of colourism among other human rights issues. The campaign called DarkSkinInJA uses social media to highlight the double standard and discrimination that happens to people with darker skin colour in Jamaica.”

The Jamaican Medical Doctor Association (JMDA) said that colour prejudice is one of the human rights concerns its members have noted in interactions between patients and medical staff.

“In a booklet issued in June 2019 called “Health Care The “Rights’ Way: Centering Human Rights in Patients’ Care,” the association noted that patients with lighter complexions are treated more favourably than those with darker hues when seeking medical attention at public hospitals and clinics. In addition, the prejudice encourages harmful practices such as skin bleaching which 11% of the country’s population undertakes.” 

In June 2020, residents took to Kingston Jamaica in a Black Lives Matter protest. The protesters argued that the victims of police brutality, namely Susan Bogle and Mario Deane, had two factors in common: they were poor and they were dark-skinned.

Because of this, colourism is not only a Caribbean issue but also a human rights issue because persons are being treated unfairly because of the colour of their skin. It is deeply rooted in countries all around the world as many countries have bought into the European standard of what is beautiful.

It is not only in Jamaica that there are issues of colourism. In March this year, the Duchess of Sussex claimed that a member of the Royal Family was concerned with the colour of her son’s skin, which sparked international outrage.

In an article written by The University of Alabama it argued that in India, young girls are trained from a young age that fairer skin is desirable. “For generations, the Indian society has been brainwashed into the ideology that fairer skin is more desirable leading to the nation developing a multibillion-dollar skin lightening industry.”

The article charges that popular international companies also enhance the ideal of “lighter” being better as they offer lightening creams and soaps that can allow individuals to become “desirable” because of their lighter complexion.

The question arising out of this is are these multibillion-dollar industries promoting a major human rights crisis across the world?

Is what they are doing legal?

Should they be held accountable for any mistreatment that a dark-skinned person receives?

Should they be seen as perpetrators of colourism?

If the United Nations sees it as a violation of one’s human rights, then should international leaders put a policy in place to handle the issues that pertain to colourism especially as it relates to subpar treatment in various sectors primarily health.