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     Volume 5 Issue 94 | May 12, 2006 |


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In this issue

Cover Story

"The Whiter the Better"

It may seem a strange phenomenon that in a country where the majority of the people are dark-skinned with subtle variations in brownness, the overriding factor that declares whether a woman is good-looking or not is the lightness of her skin. Would-be mothers-in-law crave for fair-skinned brides for their sons; men young and old, prefer lighter-skinned partners (if they have a choice) and most pathetically of all, women from all socio-economic backgrounds go to unbelievable lengths to become just a little whiter.
The obsession with whiter skin has opened up great opportunities for skin cream manufacturers and the market is ridden with all kinds of creams, lotions and gels that guarantee fairer skin after regular use. Women- those who can afford it that is- spend thousands of takas on these products as well as treatments at salons just to lighten their skin. Sunshine was never such a fearsome thing.

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