The Power of Aunty

Just one of those random thoughts from the top of my head...

Was watching this soap with the family tonight. Usual PTV crap .

Mummy telling the Prodigal Sonny boy; 'Betaw, get married to this doctor chick. I'm scared of dying of something as embarrassing as heart disease since I'm too busy too care for my over-inflated body. She'll be around and take care of me etcetera etcetera...'

Now that's a fact in Pakistani society. Aunties want their future daughter-in-laws to be DOCTORS. In addition to resembling Jessica Alba that is. And that got me thinking... the effect of Aunty as a consumer force in Pakistan. I mean they're already propelling the medical college industry with their huge demand for medic slash dish washing slash childbearing slash supermodel cyborgs.

So a brief look at the 'industries' benefiting from Aunty:

1. 'Fairness' cream Manufacturers:

White skin is an obsession with Aunty. And this in a nation where almost 70% of the population consists of brown-skinned people. Extremely beneficial to the skin whitening industry which now almost exclusively uses the unwed-dark-skinned-girl-pinning-for-prince-charming-then-after-just-ONE-applicat ion-of-blah- blah-fairness-cream-will-magically-go-gori-gori-and-voila!-HITCHED! scheme for their adverts.

2. 'Slimming' pills Manufacturers:

Yep. Even though Aunty herself is most likely to range between elephantine and plain gargantuan. Let's hear it for hypocrites. And I'm not saying being fat is a good thing. Being healthy is good. Being anorexic is fricking NOT good. Sheesh.

3. 'Medical College' Manufacturers:
Cottage industry. Reaping plenty of benefits. Lots of fees from a student body made up mostly of girls of whom a good majority will probably just tend to Aunty after graduating. And you wondered why Pakistan had such a sucky health care setup. This is actually one of my favorite topics. More on this later.

4. 'Tea' Manufacturers:
Because Aunty insists on the perfect chai. 'nuff said! Watch the millions of tea ads for more details. All showing those pretty virginal cuties handing chai around with the just the right touch of shyness and whachamacallit 'presentable-ness'.

-sigh-

And I am a brown-skinned Medical student. Hear me rant.

:P