Indian daily, Dainik Bhaskar has decided to no longer publish matrimonial ads mentioning details of a woman’s complexion and colour.
“Bhaskar group has decided that the newspaper will refrain from publishing descriptions containing words like ‘white’, ‘wheatish’, or ‘fair’ in matrimonial advertisements,” Dainik Bhaskar’s Managing Director Sudhir Agarwal said in a Tweet, reports ThePrint.
“We need to stand against such colourism to be a progressive society,” he added.
“Every daughter has a unique personality and ability which goes beyond her complexion. The social initiative by Bhaskar is being done with the intention to create this awareness,” the tweet, in Hindi, mentioned.
The move received warm responses from Twitter users and at the same time raised questions about caste and physical features of me.
“A step towards creating a better world,” said user Pratibha Singh while another user Pratima Pandey called it a ‘great initiative,’ ThePrint reports.
User Nishant Upadhyay suggested that other newspapers should also follow suit.
Appreciating the daily’s decision, user Puneri Domkavala said: “In a country like ours, wherein dark complexion is a norm because of weather, fair skin narrative is CRIMINAL.”
The Tweet also drew comments on adverts that mention caste, complexion and physical features of men.
In response to the Hindi language daily’s tweet, a Twitter user asked: “Will you also stop advertising like – looking for a groom with fair complexion, tall, handsome and smart.”
While another Tweet suggested use of gender-neutral pronouns, another said that the move will only stop the publication of such information but have no real impact on the issue.
