A few years ago, Adel Essam and Henar Sherif, art directors and founders of the non-profit organisation OArtStudio launched the photo campaign "No Color" to contribute fighting the discrimination of dark-skinned Egyptian women in Egypt where skin colour can lead to bullying on the street, discrimination in the job market and other aspects of public life. Maha Mohamed, project manager and head of the campaign, got in touch with 25 women to listen to their stories. Mohamed is of Nubian origin and learned "very early in life that her darker complexion stopped some of ther peers from playing with her" (via and via).
"We listened to some shocking stories of girls who have been abused by their own parents because of their dark skin, a girl who was fired from her work because she cannot represent a big company, a girl who had to break up with her fiancé because his family doesn’t approve of her outer appearance, and many other heartbreaking stories that can hardly be believed."
Adel Essam
"At first, I thought I was the only one suffering from such discrimination. Then I realized I am not alone in this dilemma. Hence, I decided to take a serious step in hopes of achieving social change.
A girl told me she got fired because of her dark skin. Another girl told me that when she asked her professor why he never called out her name while taking attendance, he replied she was too dark and he could barely see her. This discrimination is being practiced by all segments of society from illiterate to highly educated people.
One of my university colleagues once said in a conversation that he would never marry a black woman because he did not want to have dark children. These words deeply hurt me.
A girl told me that she broke up with her fiance who told her if you were lighter-skinned, you would be more beautiful! This mindset still exists in our society."
Maha Mohamed
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