*Say: Our men prefer light skinned women

By Abdulmumin Murtala, Kano 

THERE seems to be a disconnect between the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC and many women in Kano State who cannot just do without using bleaching cream to add to their beauty menu. While NAFDAC declares that the consistent use of bleaching creams is unhealthy, the women who have become used to the practice are upset that the declaration by the government agency is a distraction from their beauty regime and should be ignored.

The complaint of the beauty-conscious women follows the recent campaign carried out in the ancient city by the Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, to stem the tide of bleaching culture and save lives. Prof Adeyeye had raised the alarm on indiscriminate use of bleaching creams during the campaign and drew the attention of the people to the inherent dangers of such unwholesome practice, with a call for restraint. 

A World Health Organisation, WHO, study in 2018 revealed that the use of skin bleaching creams is prevalent amongst 77 per cent of Nigerian women, which is the highest in Africa, compared to the ratios of 59 per cent in Togo, 35 per cent in South Africa, and 27 per cent in Senegal. The scary statistics has shown that the menace of bleaching in Nigeria has become a national health emergency that requires a multi-faceted regulatory approach,” the NAFDAC boss pointed out and pleaded with the users of bleaching creams to retrace their steps.  

Although the women say they are aware that skin bleaching could cause cancer, black knuckles, skin burns, loss of protective skin layer, wrinkles and bad odour, they said they must, however, ‘tone up’ their skins due to the fact that Kano men prefer light-skinned women to those who are naturally dark. The men even have a saying that: “Give the light skinned lady to me even if she is a witch and cannot cook.” 

This societal idea of men going for light skinned women makes those who have dark skin feel insecure and subsequently engage in the use of bleaching creams to make them look lighter. Kaltuma, a civil servant in Kano, said she uses bleaching creams to maintain her light skin because her husband married another woman because her skin is lighter. ”I have to be using creams to tone up my skin and look fresh and beautiful to catch the attention of my husband,” she said. 

Maryam Bello, who lives with two of her friends, says she is jealous of one of them because she attracts more attention from men due to her light skin.“We are thinking of a way to send our friend packing from our house because we don’t make much money from men because of her. The men always get attracted to her while they ignore us. She is making us feel irrelevant because she uses bleaching creams,” she said.  

Ummah Abdul, a photojournalist in Kano, also confirms that women bleach because they feel insecure and are not attractive to men around them. She advised that NAFDAC can do a lot by changing the perception of men about the colour of women through an aggressive nationwide campaign. “As you can see, I don’t bleach. But as a woman, I know why our fellow women engage in the act. They just want to attract men. Kano men prefer marrying women who are light skinned; in fact, they say they prefer such ‘even if she is a witch and cannot do the house chores well.’ 

With this kind of mentality, women are forced into using bleaching creams to tone up their skins to attract men to marry them. The men should know that black is beautiful and stop the discrimination. So NAFDAC should do more along this line,” she advised.