‘I defied bullies who said ‘Asian girls aren’t beautiful’ – now I’m a beauty queen’

EXCLUSIVE: Anita Saha, 23, is a model on a mission to make a difference. After being told she may struggle to make it as a pageant queen growing up, she’s proving people wrong by making her mark

Some people think you have to look a certain way to be a pageant queen, but one woman is on a mission to show anyone can be beautiful.

Anita Saha was formerly crowned Miss Manchester. The 23-year-old always dreamt of competing in the competitions and, over the last few years, she’s managed to turn her dream into a reality.

Now she’s determined to promote South Asian models in the industry, as she wants to use her voice to be an advocate for anti-bullying, anti-colourism and self-love.

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It all came about after she was involved in a documentary where she further shed light upon anti-colourism, and worked to inspire other South Asian women (and men) not be pulled down by society.

Anita says South Asian women have “always been subjected to extreme societal pressure” to both act and live a certain way. She’s done her small part to help young people break away from this idea, as she wants them to know they’re capable of achieving their dreams.

She believes they can be whoever they want to be – no matter where they’re from or what they look like.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Star, Anita said: “I have had the honour of walking and closing for two designers at London Fashion Week, representing darker skin South Asian as a part of Models of Diversity. I truly believe this is imperative.

“Growing up I, alongside most South Asian girls and boys in the early 2000s, have been subjected to discrimination for being darker skinned. The media and films showcased light skin as beautiful for decades.

“Fairness cream advertisements from the early 2000s to 2010 was marketed in such a way where a darker skinned women were subjected to fewer job opportunities or not being chosen by prospective grooms, however, after using the ‘fairness cream’ becoming lighter skinned helped them become more ‘attractive’, successful and being chosen.

“As a young five-year-old child, this takes a big toll on one’s self-image, how they view themselves and their overall self-esteem. For over a decade, I had crippling self-esteem – a recurring negative narrative about my looks as darker skinned individuals were made to believe they are not beautiful.

“This insecurity was further aggravated after being bullied in middle-school for my dark skin tone and ethnic features. This colourism is very prevalent even today in Indian/South Asian film and modelling industry where darker skinned models, including myself, find it more difficult to get work – even if they are equally or more talented than lighter skinned peers who happen to flourish in the South Asian industry.

“The representation has long been missing on billboards, Bollywood movies and magazines for the longest time.”

She also talked about the skin care and beauty magazine columns that would contain tips and tricks to show people how to “remove darkness” and become fairer. As well as this, Anita claimed darker skinned actresses only got supporting roles and rarely featured as the main protagonist.

After growing up with such ideas around her, she now tries her best to play a small role in making a difference so that young girls and boys never have to question whether they are beautiful or are good enough simply due to the colour of their skin.

She hopes that by seeing her on the news or on runways, young people will feel like they are capable of doing something different, and achieving their wildest dreams.

Nonetheless, she does seem to think some things have changed within in the industry. When asked if she feels like there is enough diversity in the world of pageantry and modelling, she replied: “If you asked me this question 10 years ago, I would say no.

“I never saw people who looked like me on TV screens and billboards – even in India. However, in the past five years, the narrative has been rolling and there have been changes in diversity.”

She added: “This is a broad question and differs from region to region, industry to industry. If we talk about the British modelling industry, I would certainly say yes. In fact, it was only after moving back to the UK for the first time in years I was appreciated for my features and skin colour. That all colours were celebrated.

“However, I still think there is a long way to go when it comes to diversity, and that people are not included just to fill a checkbox (that we see on runways and in the modelling industry today), but rather there truly is an equal amount of diversity, where it does become a norm.

“I do see designers or modelling agencies making a conscious choice to cast talents to reflects the multi-diversity that the UK represents. Unfortunately, I do see a long way to go when it comes to the Indian modelling and the film industry where light-skin is still largely celebrated and looked for.

“I hope to see individuals of all colours on the runway, billboards or big screens to truly represent and celebrate the beautifully diverse of a population that South Asians come in all shades and colours.”

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