Suhana Khan, the daughter of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan, took to Instagram on Tuesday to hit back at comments posted under her pictures on Instagram, targeting her over her skin tone. 20-year-old Suhana shared pictures of the comments she has been receiving from trolls online, with a powerful note calling for ‘ending colourism,’ an issue that needs to be fixed in India.
“There's a lot going on right now and this is one of the issues we need to fix!! this isn't just about me, it's about every young girl/boy who has grown up feeling inferior for absolutely no reason. Here are just a few of the comments made about my appearance,” Suhana wrote, showing how some social media users criticised her dark skin tone, called her ‘kaali’ (black) and ‘kaali chudail” (black witch).
“I've been told I'm ugly because of my skin tone, by full grown men and women, since I was 12 years old. Other than the fact that these are actual adults, what's sad is that we are all indian, which automatically makes us brown - yes we come in different shades but no matter how much you try to distance yourself from the melanin, you just can't,” Suhana wrote.
With a hashtag calling for ‘ending colourism,’ Suhana wrote that one should be happy about their skin tone.
“Hating on your own people just means that you are painfully insecure. I'm sorry if social media, Indian matchmaking or even your own families have convinced you, that if you're not 5"7 and fair you're not beautiful. I hope it helps to know that I'm 5"3 and brown and I am extremely happy about it and you should be too. #endcolourism,” Suhana wrote.
Suhana has been studying filmmaking in New York, but is currently in Mumbai with her family.