Mahira Khan says she has rejected fairness cream ads since start of career

The discourse about racial discrimination happening currently worldwide has led to another very important debate in Pakistan - celebrities endorsing skin whitening products. 

While it is evident that most of our local stars are unaware of how a simple brand endorsement plays a fundamental role in fueling racism, there are some who have staunchly rejected all such ad offers since the very start of their career. 

Mahira Khan, who has never endorsed a fairness cream product till date, recently came forth revealing that she had consciously been turning the offers down since she was a VJ. 

In a tweet, Mahira wrote, "Been refusing ever since I was a VJ till now. Never endorsed a skin lightening product." 

Echoing Mahira's thoughts, singer Momina Mustehsan, also revealed how she has never entertained any such offers that have come her way, and urged people to act responsibly to cause a shift in the market. 

"Same here. Always turned down all fairness product endorsements. The amount of melanin in your skin has nothing to do with how beautiful you are. If we ALL responsibly refuse whitening endorsements, it might cause a shift in the market. We have the power to change the narrative," she said. 

Earlier, Zara Noor Abbas faced backlash for giving her two cents on the George Floyd case and the all-pervasive systemic racism prevalent across the world. 

She was called out for her hypocrisy over supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, while endorsing a skin lightening product at the same time, thus insinuating a general idea that fairness is attractive. 

In response, Zara had said, "That does not promote killing. Does not promote racism. Stop making this out of context when it is not the agenda. Your word doesn’t matter here. What matters is human life and equality and this is what I am here for. A face wash is killing No one."