beauty ya hemiya

The purpose of this campaign is to emphasize beauty ya hemiya, translated to “everyone’s beauty,” as a valid standard of beauty. We are each beautiful because of our differences. Your beauty comes from within, never forget that.

beautiful because you are thoughtful

beautiful because you are curious

beautiful because you are mysterious

beautiful because you are loyal

beautiful because you are full of love

beautiful because you are confident

beautiful because you are compassionate

beautiful because your energy is contagious

beautiful because you are sweet as honey

beautiful because of your passion

I’ve often felt like the skin that covers my body is suffocating my potential.

Smothering the confidence I collect while swimming among my thoughts.

Western standards of beauty are grossly overrepresented in the media and in society at large. Growing up in the United States, the women I would see in movies and magazines were all thin and fair skinned with dainty facial features and light hair. My comparative insecurities further validated by Kurdish standards of beauty because they too could not escape the western influence. Fair skin, full lips, small almost non-existent noses, unrealistic body standards and to top it all off, a rampant culture of plastic surgery. I would wish away my thick curly hair, the olive depth of my skin, the distinct shape of my nose, the darkness of my eyes, the intensity of my eyebrows.

I found an appreciation for myself through the realization that validation of my exterior is not a validation of who I am. We have to encourage loving ourselves in our own skins. How boring would the world be if we all looked the same?

everyone’s beauty

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