Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune skin condition causing milky-white patches on the skin. 
People living with vitiligo are affected far beyond visible changes to their skin. Millions worldwide experience stigma, social exclusion, bullying, and discrimination in education, employment, and public life. 
Medical evidence shows that vitiligo carries a heavy mental health burden with over half of patients experiencing anxiety or depression (some of whom even considered ending their lives).
Yet their psychological suffering is routinely ignored because the condition is treated as “only cosmetic.”
In countries like Brazil, individuals with vitiligo are even barred from certain government and defence jobs, despite being fully capable.

In India, medical Standards for recruitment in Indo Tibetan Border Police under the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) (according to Ministry of Home Affairs 2015 guidelines), classify vitiligo as an absolute disqualifying condition. Moreover, the Delhi High Court in a December 2024 case gave a verdict in favor of this measure despite no justifiable constitutional reason. This blanket exclusion is medically outdated and constitutionally disproportionate, as vitiligo does not impair physical fitness, operational capability, or cognitive function.

If nothing changes, people with vitiligo will continue to be denied holistic healthcare, face preventable mental health crises, and be excluded from employment opportunities purely because of appearance.
However, if institutions act, by recognising vitiligo as both a medical and mental health condition, restoring World Vitiligo Day, ending discriminatory job bans, and educating future doctors, millions of people can access dignified care, equal opportunities, and social acceptance.
This is about health, human rights, and basic dignity. 

This petition therefore has 4 main demands:

1. An End to Blanket Vitiligo Disqualification in Indian Armed and Security Forces

   We demand that the Government of India revise the 2015 Ministry of Home Affairs medical recruitment standards for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which currently classify vitiligo as an absolute disqualifying condition. 

   We further urge reconsideration of the December 2024 Delhi High Court verdict that upheld this exclusion despite the absence of a justifiable nexus between vitiligo and job performance. Recruitment standards must be grounded in individualised, evidence-based medical assessment, not appearance-based assumptions. India must align its policies with global best practices, where risk-based evaluations (not categorical bans) are used, ensuring equality of opportunity, dignity, and non-discrimination under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

2. Officially Recognising Vitiligo as Both a Medical and Mental Health Condition
   WHO to establish vitiligo as a dual-classified condition under Chapter 14 (Diseases of the skin) AND Chapter 6 (Mental, behavioural disorders), requiring all vitiligo patients receive mandatory depression/anxiety screening, given that the VALIANT study (which surveyed 3,541 patients across 17 countries) finds that 58.7% of patients reported diagnosed mental health conditions, with anxiety affecting 28.8% and depression affecting 24.5% and more critically, 55% of patients screened positive for moderate to severe depressive symptoms using standardized depression scales.
   
   
3. Restoration of World Vitiligo Day
   Restoration and elevation of World Vitiligo Day from its current de-listed status (removed from the UN Calendar of Disability Events in 2019) to full WHO recognition status, comparable to World Psoriasis Day, which achieved WHO recognition in 2014.
   
   
4. Ending Discriminatory Job Bans
   The International Labour Organization to issue specific guidance mandating the removal of vitiligo-based employment exclusions in all government sectors, particularly military, police, and fire services. Currently, Brazil explicitly excludes individuals with vitiligo from 56.7% of armed forces and public sector positions based on outdated 1967 regulations, while India maintains similar bans in military recruitment. In contrast, the United States, United Kingdom, EU, and Canada use evidence-based risk assessment matrices rather than categorical exclusions.
   
   
5. Educating Future Doctors
   Medical school curricula in all countries should include vitiligo as a case study of psycho-dermatology, the bidirectional interaction between skin disease and mental health.