Common issues in the Desi Community

1. COMMON ISSUES IN THE
DESI COMMUNITY
AKANKSHA KALE
PROFESSOR MAXWELL
COMP II
FEBRUARY 15 2017

2. WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
Like in every society, there are specific cultural issues that are prevalent in countries of South Asia (Ex:
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.) There are discriminations with skin color, problems that occur from the
common methods in raising children, and bigger issues such as child marriages. They must be talked about
in order to be put to a stop.

3. COMPLEXITY OF THESE ISSUES:
• Most of these specific problems mentioned fall under the category of societal ways of life, meaning
they can appear more or less in different people’s lives. With this comes different opinions and
backgrounds, making them complex. They are not so nuanced in the way that the government is not
involved, or there’s no “this or that” situation. How ever, on the topic of child marriages, this can be
perceived as nuanced because people will either be for it or against it; it could be illegal or legal. How
ever, it can still be complex because of people’s beliefs behind doing it.

4. POTENTIAL QUESTIONS:
• Why is darker skin color more discriminated against in these countries than in others?
• Can child marriages be successful?
• Do child marriages have impacts on the child?
• Do the methods of parenting many share in this community beneficial?
• What kind of discriminations do certain people of darker complexions face in these countries?
• Should skin lightning creams be taken off the market?
• Why is there such a fixation on most of these parent’s having control on even their children’s adult
lives?
• Should child marriages be illegal?

5. RESOURCES:
• My personal experiences being a desi person myself
• Databases on South Asian countries
• Reliable websites with information on these issues

6. WHAT ARE POTENTIAL CHALLENEGS ASSOCIATED
WITH THIS ISSUE?
• People having different opinions from mine, or people getting offended by my opinions

7. WHY IS THIS TOPIC RELEVANT AND WORTH
EXPLORING?
• Because these issues are very real and people are exposed to them daily. Through spreading awareness
and my ideas, people can branch off from my words and create their own thoughts on the issues and
potentially spread them themselves. Through this, more people will be involved and aware on these
issues and the effects can be minimized.