Skin-bleaching creams are being removed from shelves in Rwanda, as the government has enforced a ban on the products.

Some women in Rwanda say they bleach their skins to avoid being dark in complexion, as their husbands prefer women who are lighter in complexion.

In November 2018, the president of Rwanda Paul Kagame said skin-bleaching creams have adverse effects, and instructed that they must be removed from shelves in all the stores, and also announced that they are legally banned in Rwanda.

Skin-bleaching products are said to cause kidney and liver diseases, skin cancer and black spots called hype pigmentation on the skins of their users, and however reports indicate that women in Rwanda ignore this advice.

Reports indicate that in African countries, skin-bleaching creams make business which worth billions, and that four in ten women in Africa bleach their skins.

Other countries which banned the use of these creams include Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.