A whiter shade of pale: skin-lightening in the Arab world

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

CAIRO (AFP) — Marwa wants a paler face and is willing to try a whole range of lightening creams that promise beauty, love and success to Arab women. But such products have also been slammed as "racism in a bottle".

The 19-year-old Egyptian works for a hairdresser in the poor Cairo district of Bulaq al-Dakrur, and is spoilt for choice as cheap blends share shelf space with brand-name products that have now found a niche in the Arab world.

Skin-whitening using home-made or store-bought products has long been a tradition in Asia and Africa, but has taken off commercially in the Middle East with Dutch-British company Unilever leading the market with its "Fair and Lovely" brand.

As women in the West compete for a year-round copper glow and pages in lifestyle...