Dark is Beautiful launched in 2009, has had a cascading effect since its inception. It has stimulated and inspired the birth of many other campaigns which advocates against skin colour discrimination. As we (Women of Worth), were inaugurating our Dark is Beautiful Hyderabad Chapter, on the title “Beauty Beyond Colour”on 5th March 2016, at the InOrbit Mall, “Dark on Fleek” was brought to our attention. Smarna Ravela and Kollipara proud students of the Oakridge International School, Hyderabad, started this campaign as a part of their school community project. We invited the girls to come share their experiences and inspire the students present at the launch. We celebrate and encourage young girls like Shreya and Smarna who want to make a difference in the society by addressing sensitive issues like ‘colour discrimination’. We are proud to collaborate with them and here’s a small excerpt on what Dark on Fleek is all about.
“Dark on Fleek”, is directed towards the precious women of tomorrow, (girls of various schools) aiming to show them that it isn’t just looks that determine beauty. The slang “fleek”, is popular amongst the students and means perfection or “is awesome”. They aim to convey to the students that they don’t need to go by society’s ideals of perfection, but just need to be their own unique and amazing selves by embracing their colour with pride and confidence and showcase their real worth by showing others who they are in personality, talent and abilities.
This project also hopes to give students a voice. A voice to express themselves and also educate them on this issue. Having undergone discrimination on this front themselves, they understand that an abyss of damage has been done by the oodles of fairness cream commercials and movies that regularly bombard our television screens. Their primary goal is to address the damage and educate students on how to overcome the episodes of discrimination that they have encountered.
Dark on Fleek as of now is a small community and under the guidance of Women of Worth, they are hoping to encourage and bring along many other girls, who would like to volunteer and help raise a stronger voice against skin colour discrimination and harbour a colour bias free environment on school campuses in the future.
Shreya Kollipara on the right: I’m passionate about writing, and I write to promote equality in all spheres of our society by bringing awareness and change in the attitudes of people, wherein, we learn to break free from all the boundaries set by men in terms of caste, creed, religion and colour.
Smarna Ravela on the left: As a State-level footballer, many people have expressed their concerns over my increasing tan and have asked me to consider giving up my passion and also recommend an array of whitening cosmetics. That’s why we felt the need to start Dark on Fleek, which will help and educate students on skin colour discrimination and excel beyond it.