Rwanda Bans Skin Bleaching Products

From AlJazeera:

I see these products in the stores and it breaks my heart. I remember when I first noticed African women who's faces were way lighter than their necks or other body parts. I was unaware of the use of bleaching products and I thought it was makeup. In the past I had seen many very dark women who put on white base makeup which made their faces look entirely different from their necks. Often these were very attractive women who, in my opinion, had ruined their faces with that makeup.

While banning a product may "help" in that they will not be available, the real issue is the reason why these products are being used: The belief that their skin color is bad.

Just consider how bad this stuff is. Those florescent bulbs you buy in Home Depot? They don't want you to break them or dispose of them in your regular trash because it contains mercury. Yet these women will put this on their bodies regularly.