On December 8th, social media was faced with a roadblock when girls from different walks of life took to their profiles and posted pictures of themselves facing away from the camera, showcasing their hairstyles from behind. Different girls, different hairdos, different stories and completely different yet equally valid struggles of life!
View this post on Instagram
Mansha Pasha
View this post on Instagram
Iqra Aziz
View this post on Instagram
Yumna Zaidi
View this post on Instagram
Sunsilk Black Shine’s #ShaanSeShine campaign took up the concerning and controversial topic of gender inequality and stereotyping in Pakistan. Seeing as girls rights are grossly ignored here, they started a dialogue on topics that girls have been taught not to talk about.
Kiran Khan
View this post on Instagram
Hina Altaf
View this post on Instagram
Girls from different fields spoke up in support of this agenda and brought on a wave of power for all those who had forgotten they had a voice, reminding them that they are capable of doing whatever they dream of.
Zenith Irfan
View this post on Instagram
Mahoor Shahzad
View this post on Instagram
A plethora of celebrities and actresses alike, such as Iqra Aziz, Mansha Pasha, Hina Altaf and the extremely talented Yumna Zaidi, to athletes like Mahnoor Shahzad and Zenith Irfan and even numerous journalists backed this campaign by taking a stand and telling their stories loud and proud, of how they were told that girls are not meant to interact with strangers, or that the only priority acceptable for a girl is her home, and even went as far as saying that they’ve been told girls are too fragile to have a career.
For centuries girls have been told not to work, not to go out into the sun much or play outside altogether. With #ShaanSeShine, Sunsilk gave these girls a voice, one that could say that they can do whatever they wish without having to worry about damaging their beautiful hair in the dirt and sun. A voice that would help them achieve the goals they dreamt of while growing up but were never motivated.
The second phase of this empowering campaign was when the same girls shared videos of their stories, describing their struggles to get to the pinnacle of success.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Sunsilk empowered an entire nation worth of girls to stand up for what they believe in, their capabilities and to reach out for their dreams and this campaign really picked up momentum and garnered an amazing response from the masses. With people praising the initiative, their stories and their strength, it was truly an inspiring moment in history. All of these girls were seen together in a video shining out bright with pride inspiring other girl to make their own path.
View this post on Instagram
What was even more exciting was how the followers took inspiration from every single one of these girls and their stories. The response that this campaign amassed showed that the #ShaanSeShine campaign lived up to every girl’s expectation!
A couple of the encouraging messages that stood out were as follows:
“It’s not every day that we come about such strong and power-packed campaigns, which delivers a message that could turn lives if not many but at least ONE! There is no doubt that we want to see many more influencing campaigns like #ShaanSeShine that inspire us to be better, believe in ourselves and fulfill our dreams with heads held up high.”
“Sunsilk surely made its place loud and clear, trending on every homepage with stories that motivated every girl that came across these influencing videos. Nonetheless, social media was taken over with these beautiful monochromatic hair photographs of prominent female key opinion leaders belonging from different walks of life as they used the hashtag #ShaanSeShine, thus depicting the true meaning of Black Shine with Sunsilk.”
With this campaign we were reminded of the importance of using our voice and of initiating more dialogue on matters that impact so many people around us. Everyone has a right to live their life to the best of their abilities and girls, in particular, have been denied that right for far too long. Now is their time to SHINE with Sunsilk Black shine!
