There are some people who set such store by physical beauty that I am genuinely amazed when I see it. In their eyes, anyone who is not fair-skinned is ugly and dark. And darkness, in their thinking, means inferior and worthless. But let a person have fair skin and a dark heart—and in their eyes, such a one is still good, still acceptable! This coterie includes the highly educated, the educated, the semi-educated, the barely educated, and the uneducated alike. In this regard, they achieve a remarkably ugly unanimity. In any case, my husband's family thinks exactly the same way. They are all more or less fair-skinned. And they cannot bear anyone who is dark. Because my husband chose to marry me out of affection, they accepted me, albeit with great reluctance. Since my husband's income sustains the household, his decisions carry special weight in family matters. Last November, my son was born. He came out very dark. My mother told me that children's skin tone continues to change for the first six months after birth. But from the moment my son was born, I heard nothing but cutting remarks from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law about his complexion. "How did this child come to be born in our family?" "He looks just as dark as his mother and grandmother!" "Oh God, my brother is so handsome—why is his son so dark?" "It was a mistake to bring a dark girl into this house!" And a thousand other such things. They said all this right in front of me. My husband, of course, never said anything about our son's complexion, but he never objected to their remarks either. He is a man without protest, one who avoids trouble. Even when he sees his mother and sister behaving wrongly, he says nothing. And on my side, he listens quietly to my grievances without ever taking a stand for or against them. He simply says: adjust yourself. His silent role only emboldens them. With doubled enthusiasm, they continue to taunt me in every way. Now my husband's delight in the boy knows no bounds. He behaves as if he could gladly give up his very life for this child. My son's skin is no longer dark now—you could call it dusky. What is remarkable is that seeing his father's attachment to the boy, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law no longer make such comments to me. The father's joy in the child, which was not there before, is now evident. What does this mean? A husband's support of his wife, his standing beside her, undoubtedly strengthens her position in the family. A woman whose husband does not stand by her finds it very difficult to survive in the family. No one is more alone than such a woman. But I am thinking of something else. When my husband allowed his family to speak such nonsense about his child, he showed no resistance then. Now, about that same child, he displays such interest, such love. Is this love not counterfeit? Why was his stance not like this then? Why did he play the role of a two-faced serpent? What kind of father is he, who cannot even take a possessive stand regarding his own child? When I was born, my mother had to hear the very same kind of remarks and taunts. In those days, my father's role was like my husband's role. I am that father's daughter! Did my mother's sighs, by divine will, somehow fall upon me? Is this the consequence of my father's deeds? Whether it is one's own father or one's husband—are all men alike in this way?
Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Is being born dark-skinned a sin, then? Does anyone have a hand in their own birth? Does anyone choose their face or the color of their skin? Is physical beauty something one must labor to acquire? And yet people take such pride in things that aren’t even their own doing—what mockery is that? If one’s own father cannot grasp such simple truths, who else will understand them? What good does it do to blame the rest of the world?
The twenty-first century is upon us. When will people finally learn to truly love one another? Those who stare at skin color—does the hue of the mind, of the intellect, never register in their vision or comprehension? A beautiful person—it should have meant a person with a beautiful soul, and yet we have twisted it into meaning a person with beautiful skin! Truly, this society does not deserve the brilliance and refinement of the human mind.
In a society where even a father’s acceptance of his own child hinges on the color of their skin, it stands to reason that the minds and intellectual growth of its women will not flourish. It is only natural.
হ্যা, এমনই বর্তমান সমাজ। সাদা-কালো বিরীত ভুমিকা রাখে, সব জায়গাতেই।