jeudi 25 septembre 2014

Sudan : The Standardized Beauty

Image: Duke Media.

As everywhere around the globe these days , there is a standardizing  for beauty , we have an image that everyone wants to look like, and it's the same  in Sudan.

Talking with many females during my stay there and being a  part of a wedding preparation made me understand a little bit about the beauty standards in a city like Khartoum, a  pretty girl is a light skin girl , which means in a city in the middle of the African continent with hot climate  adding to this  of course the African genes that has much melanin in it ,  girls has to do much work to keep their skin light ! so starting by using natural masks , covering the face and the hands , arriving to using chemical products based on cortisone that  has as  secondary effect the "de-pigmentation" which means taking the normal color from the skin !

but it's not just the skin , it  goes to the eyebrows , the hair, the  nails , even the color of the skin on the articulations like knee and elbow which are anatomically speaking  darker in all races !

you walk in the street , you see girls  looks like each other , the identity is gone because we are trying to reach a " perfect"  image made by  society  or media , you open the Sudanese TV, all  female presenters are looking alike , all from the same "type " of beauty !

I see that black skin has a unique charm , makes the eyes more expressive , more pure and more resistant to skin diseases as well !


Dark skin beauty was also  not accepted in several  countries around the world especially in American , in Europe as well and now it's moving to Arabic countries with mixed Arabic African genes  though  we don't have their problems , environment  or  culture !
i recommend watching the  documentary " Dark Girls " : http://officialdarkgirlsmovie.com/

maybe we want to start  fighting this before it gets serious  and be as we were created , different and beautiful !





vendredi 12 septembre 2014

Sudan & Mango


My  trip to Sudan deserves lots of articles in this  blog , but lets start  by the  thing i miss the most , MANGO !
yesterday  i bought one mango for 2 euro  from  a  fruit market in porto - portugal ,  the smell was very nice , but  once i  opened it :(  , it was nothing like the  mango in sudan ,  well  there is  lots  of  types and shapes and names for mango over there,  57 varieties of mango  in one country , can you believe that !!  Mango is one of the most cherished fruits, not only in flavor and taste, but also for its nutritional value  mango is a good source of vitamin A and C and rich in carbohydrates, minerals potassium, and phosphorus. Mango is mostly consumed as fresh fruit but due to its perishable nature it can not be store for long time . 

when i goggled Mango +  sudan , i found out i'am not the  only one who fell in love with this great creation ! , and i loved  what Marry  the owner  of the blog  ( http://this-is-sudan.blogspot.pt/)  said  about  mango  : ( I'm convinced that it was a mango that Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat in the Garden of Eden) 
it's really that wonderful !

so if  you are passing by sudan , don't forget ,  MANGO  comes first ! it's  one of the most delicious things that you can taste  in your life !


ُEGYPT : pretty girls .. ugly women


The title may be shocking for some of you  . but  this is  what i noticed in  Egypt , i went there for few days in alexendria and cairo , but  as i love to watch peoples' faces  i couldn't help to notice they have really pretty  girls , smiley , full of energy, bright eyes , singing voice , very positive energy ! but  when you look to  elder  women  ( not  so old )   just above 35 ,you look at tired , exhausted eyes  , falling shoulders , fat bodies , busy minds and dark look , the look in their eyes inspires sadness , worry, fear ..  or  a mixture of all of that .. may be  it's the  fear of future , not know  what it holds  for them  .. maybe it is the responsibility and the idea  that when a woman get married  she forget  everything that is related to her self and dreams and ambitions ,and dedicate her self to her  husband and children ..

 i don't know , but it's really sad to see this !