Black Arab Women Tackle Racist Beauty Ideals and Stereotypes

Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation News

June 19, 2024 Story by: Editor

Black Arab women are leveraging the momentum from global anti-racism movements to challenge deep-seated discrimination and beauty standards in the Middle East and North Africa that favor lighter skin and straight hair.

Descendants of sub-Saharan Africans in these regions face social marginalization, limited job opportunities, and frequent racist abuse , as reported by Reuters. Black women, including African migrants, experience compounded discrimination, according to activists.

“ The standard of beauty in our society is to be white,” said Khawla Ksiksi, a feminist and anti-racism activist who co-founded the Voices of Black Tunisian Women group. “Black women are pressured to straighten their hair, get rid of their curls, and to whiten their skin to be accepted by society and fit in by its standards,” Ksiksi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Inspired by the global Black Lives Matter movement, Ksiksi said Black Arab women aim to shed light on the daily racial prejudice and abuse they endure in a region where such issues are often denied.

Somali-Yemeni activist Amna Ali recently founded the Black Arabs Collective , an Instagram platform to raise awareness about race and racism in the region. She recalled seeing advertisements for whitening cream that depicted women becoming happier as their skin lightened. “It’s so damaging to brown and Black girls that watch that and think my skin color is bad and if it’s lighter, it’s better,” she said from Dubai.

Whitening Cream Controversy

Global criticism of whitening creams has prompted some brands to respond. Johnson & Johnson announced it would stop selling its range of such products in Asia and the Middle East.

In Tunisia, a leading sanitary pad brand, Nana, faced backlash after sharing a post meant to celebrate diversity, featuring a white, blue-eyed model painted in different skin-tone shades. Nana Arabia quickly replaced the controversial post but did not respond to requests for comment.

“The use of blackface for me further indicates that Black women are perceived as not beautiful,” Ksiksi said. “(Brands) would rather use the image of a white woman and paint her face.”

Beyond beauty standards, Black Arab women face stereotypes and frequent taunting about their sexuality. In Tunisia and other parts of North Africa and the Middle East, they are disproportionately poor, face worse job prospects, and are subject to increased sexual harassment.

“Economically and socially, Black women are at the bottom of the pyramid. So, if someone harasses a Black woman, he knows she has no connections... and this makes it easier for her to be harassed,” Ksiksi explained.

In October 2018, Tunisia became the first Arab country to criminalize racial discrimination, with the first conviction under the law occurring in February 2019.

Challenging Deep-Rooted Racism

From Egypt to the Palestinian territories, entrenched racist views are being challenged. Earlier this month, Egyptian actor and singer Mohamed Ramadan addressed a racist comment about his son’s skin color, expressing pride in his own color and happiness that his children will grow up anti-racist.

“I’m proud of my color... and I’m happy my children will grow up to be anti-racism,” Ramadan wrote on his Facebook page.

Palestinian actress Maryam Abu Khaled, in a viral Instagram video, expressed hope that future generations would not endure the anti-Black comments she grew up hearing, such as parents warning their children to avoid the sun to avoid looking like her.

For Amna Ali, who was often told she was “pretty for a black girl,” the global protests following the killing of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer have sparked overdue reflection in the Arab world. “People are starting to understand that ‘okay, maybe now I should be more socially aware of my anti-Blackness’,” she said. “This is a huge change from the race conversation completely not existing in the Arab world to people now calling each other out.” Source: Asharq Al-Awsat