This post might seem a bit long, but please read it as it is a totally fair assessment and to get to the bottom of this issue may take a couple of minutes. Also, I apologise if you've read this before, but I needed to link to this from a different thread so to make it easier to find, I've put it at the top of a new thread.
Anyway....
The whole argument shows how THICK Yasmina is and I will demonstrate how she has caused this whole ruckus due to her brainlessness. Just for the record, I have Pakistani parents and consider myself part-Pakistani and part-English, but not wholly one or the other.
Yasmina originally stated that she'd prefer Philip over Noorul as he was more attractive and said as much to Mona and Paula who agreed. At this point, no-one can accuse anyone of being racist. Okay, Noorul may be a bit gutted but hey, there's always someone better looking, whoever you are. It was nothing to do with race at all. When Yasmina tells her thoughts to the rest of the team, she is told that her argument is invalid as Noorul is good-looking enough to be in the poster.
But then...
All of a sudden, Yasmina brings race into the equation to strengthen her case by saying, "We've got to have a white person in there as well."
Now, this IS racism. She is saying that because Noorul is Asian, he can't be in the poster with Mona as she is black. This is your classic quota system. No-one would care if BOTH people in the poster were white nor call it racist, but if the person in charge was to say, "Well, we have to have two white people in it", then this is nothing but racism.
There is no reason why there has to be limits on a particular skin colour, unless the poster is for something which can only be truly portrayed by having only white people, or only black people, only oriental people, etc. (for example, you would want people of South-Asian descent to advertise something like "authentic Indian food" as the public would wonder why "authentic Indian food" is being cooked by people who aren't (or don't look) Indian. And by the same token, I, being part-Pakistani would not expect to get the role of someone called David Chang, as that simply would not suit. In these cases, anyone who cries 'Racism' is ridiculously out of touch with reality and deserves a beating).
Back to Yasmina - by saying, "We've got to have a white person in there as well", she has suggested that race is paramount. It would have been equally racist if she had said, "we've got to have a black person in there as well" or "we've got to have an Asian person in there as well" because there was no other reason for having a particular race other than race itself. If there was a business reason, as the panel on You're Fired claimed, then why didn't she say so over the phone (and even then you'd handle it in a sensitive manner - not saying, "they might think we're advertising for the ethnic minority sportswear club", which I genuinely feel is something Nick Griffin would say).
She exacerbates the problem by saying, "Well, I'm Iranian, so I can say it." Okay, so by being Iranian, she's not a "standard" racist (ie, one colour against another), but now reverse discriminating, which is still racism. And on top of this, Mona comes to Yasmina's 'rescue' by being "okay with it" as if it is fine for a person to be dropped due to the colour of their skin, as long as an 'ethinic minority' approves. The only reason Mona was fine with it was because of the real reason her and Yasmina wanted Philip (i.e. they thought he was better looking than Noorul) - which is absolutely okay and not racist. But I doubt Mona would be singing the same song if she was in the car with Debra and all she heard was "they might think we're advertising for the ethnic minority sportswear club". What I found amusing was that Mona's approval was all that anyone needed to comfort themselves. Anyone can be a victim or a culprit of racism regardless of race.
Debra was absolutely right to pull them up on this and unlike the panel on You're Fired, was not out to "prove something". Trevor Nelson claimed that they made a business decision - what business decision? What business decision was Debra told of? That "they might think we're advertising for the ethnic minority sportswear club"?
If that is what any sane person heard over the phone, they would have reacted in the same way.
In conclusion -
Yasmina - had a reasonably fair point about Philip maybe being a better option over Noorul due to Philip's perceived better looks. But when that point was dismissed (by Philip himself) she could only turn to race to push her agenda. While I'll give Yasmina the benefit of the doubt and say that I don't think she is racist, she was pretty ignorant and bringing race into the issue was incredibly thick of her. Her being Iranian makes no difference. That would be like spitting at every Chinese person just for being Chinese and then saying "I'm Chinese, so I can spit at them". Well if the only reason for spitting at them was just because of their race, this, by definition, makes you a racist.
Mona - did not do anyone any favours by condoning what was said.
Debra - was absolutely right, but unfortunately if people of Trevor Nelson are to be believed, then we are living in a sad world.