‘Lady with bleached skin turned away at Miss Ghana audition’ seems ridiculous to me

I subscribe to the "black is beautiful" philosophy, especially regarding the anti-bleaching campaign. And I applauded the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for banning bleaching creams in Ghana.

However, I am not one of the hypocritical folks who cheered the unfair disqualification of an ambitious lady with bleached skin at a Miss Ghana audition recently held here in Takoradi.

In fact, I was taken aback by the nearly unanimous commendation most people happily expressed upon hearing this rather pathetic news.

Yes, I feel that discretionary decision by the Miss Ghana judges, to me, appears to be ridiculous in every sense of the adjective.

Well, you apparently disagree with my stance and might even chastise me. I tolerate your opposition though.

Remember, your defence is entirely premised on sensationalism and accepted opinion; my dissent is simply based on reason, fairness and eccentricity.

Put yourself in that poor lady's shoes, and I bet you will reconsider your perception of her disgusting treatment — for I did before holding my dissenting view.

I could imagine attending a start-up competition and being turned away by the panel — like what befell the lady with bleached skin — because I am a university dropout while all other attendees are undergraduate students and university graduates.

In Ghana, we generally think little of and despise those who have an aberrant way of life. It is just sickening!

Alright, I am not blindly justifying the lady's bleached skin; I only want to refute the fact that she was merely barred for bleaching her skin.

Of course everyone knows skin bleaching is "an African plague," as the award-winning celebrity blogger Ameyaw Debrah once wrote. It is really, really harmful to one's health.

Yet it should never provide the basis for discrimination against persons living with bleached skin!

So that lady actually deserved an unconditional chance to prove what she possesses — her innate qualities, which are on point and satisfactory — beyond her bleached skin instead of mistreating her based on complexion.

Besides, no where in the 17-list eligibility code of the Miss Ghana beauty pageant states that bleached skin is forbidden. Number 7, for example, talks about being "shrewd and well-informed."

And the required qualities are "originality, individuality, enthusiasm, mental discipline, connection to the audience, on-stage awareness, charisma, congeniality, expression/performance of talent."

Therefore, how could the judges overlook all the aforementioned prerequisites and prohibit the innocent lady from entering the nation's premier beauty pageant?

Are they suggesting that she lacked some, most, or all of those qualities? Do they also mean she did not meet any of those transparent requirements?

At least, the lady explained why she accidentally bleached her skin, but the judges found it misleading. She was probably telling the truth (an unusual one) though.

Finally, I expected the judges to be more rational and fair-minded in addressing the lady's delicate condition. They were too simplistic and so biased towards her — and that depicted unprofessionalism.

They could have encouraged her to quit bleaching and seek professional help (if they did not). Above all, they needed to inspire the lady with bleached skin to pursue her dreams by cherishing her natural self and capitalising on her abilities.