Training Beauty and Ambition: An Afghan Woman’s Take on Skills, Support & Running A Salon
Faiza, who had been running a salon for the last 11 years and training women, talks about training young women with the support of humanitarian organisations and navigating her livelihoods amidst the current ban on beauty parlours.
By Faiza*, as told to Samuel Hall Team
This first-person narrative is a part of our ‘Everyday Women Leaders Series’ which highlights everyday women leaders, their stories, and their hopes. Read the other stories here.
M y name is Faiza*, and I’ve always held one dream close to my heart. ‘For as long as I can remember, I’ve aspired to own a beauty salon, not just in my hometown but also in Kabul and Herat. This dream has fueled my ambition for the past 11 years, and today, at 27, while I am trained and prepared to make it happen, I had to halt my salon’s operations due to the DfA’s sudden decree to close down beauty salons in July.
I come from a family of five, including myself, my husband, and our three children. My husband used to work in construction, but he’s currently unemployed. The weight of our family’s financial well-being rests on my shoulders, and I’ve always felt a strong desire to provide a better future for my children.
My journey took a significant turn when I returned to Afghanistan from Iran in 2009 after living there for eight years. Back then, I started working in a beauty salon and continued doing so until July of this year.
I was working in a salon and training other women who were as passionate about hair and make-up as they were about having independent careers.
Empowering Afghan Women Through Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Support: A Step Ahead with IOM RADA
In 2020, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)’s Reintegration Assistance and Development in Afghanistan (RADA) staff came to our community. It announced its intention to hire interns and supervisors/trainers for beauty salons. Our community leader recognised my potential and encouraged me to join their program as an intern.
When I applied, the IOM needed more applicants for supervisor/trainer positions in beauty salons. With seven years of prior experience as a beauty salon trainer with the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled(DoLSA), I was introduced as a trainer to IOM. After reviewing my background and knowledge, they contacted me and visited my beauty salon. They introduced me to 4 interns for nine months. IOM paid a monthly salary to interns for six months, and I had to pay the rest for three months.’
Samuel Hall’s research in multiple contexts shows that training must extend beyond the classroom to encompass support for ideas, fostering entrepreneurship and scalability — crucial for lasting economic and social impact. Beyond aid- humanitarian organisations should always focus on sustainable skills development and livelihood support that encourages community-led ideas and initiatives.
‘Being a trainer, I had to master a wide range of skills in the beauty salon, from makeup techniques to operating hairstyling equipment. IOM RADA has effectively addressed the needs of the community. They provide interns with valuable skills and offer financial incentives to cover transportation costs. Upon program completion, IOM equips interns with tools and funds, empowering them to establish successful businesses in hairdressing. I’ve worked with IOM twice as a trainer, and each program has resulted in trainees launching and operating their businesses.
Moreover, this programme allowed me to secure a stable income, not only for myself but also for my team. I initially operated a small salon with limited equipment, but the IOM program provided vital funds for equipment and beauty tools, allowing my business to expand significantly. They transformed my tiny 4x4 salon, which once had only a small table and two chairs, into a thriving business. With their support, I became not just a trainer but also a learner, constantly researching and improving my skills.
The Amplified Impact of Ambition
Our rural area aspired to have a salon within the urban centre, and I loved working with interns as a team. In my role as a trainer, I had the privilege of imparting various skills to our interns. Each topic we covered became a learning experience not just for them but also for me. I felt compelled to delve deeper, conducting additional research to provide them with the most up-to-date information.
Our interns displayed a genuine passion for specific areas within the beauty industry. One aspired to excel in makeup application, while another had a keen interest in hairstyling. Yet another focused on nail care, and the list goes on. With them, my salon’s capacity increased from 20% to 100%, significantly improving our lives.
The social impact has been equally impressive. Every graduate from our program now serves as a trainer, elevating their social status. I introduced them to the Ministry of Economy, helping them obtain business licence. They attended meetings, established networks, and played a pivotal role in creating connections between organisations, businessmen, and businesswomen.
In the Afghan community, women often face significant limitations. Still, contributing financially to their families through a sustainable income source is a powerful deterrent against domestic violence. At the programme’s outset, my interns initially mentioned attending classes primarily for the incentives provided. However, their perspectives shifted as they progressed and witnessed the positive transformations in their capabilities.
Over time, they began envisioning their path to independent entrepreneurship and nurturing hopes for a brighter future. Throughout their journey, I consistently encouraged them to think beyond the immediate future, instilling in them the mental fortitude to pursue their long-term aspirations.
Furthermore, there was a noticeable psychosocial impact. The interns gained self-confidence and became engrossed in learning. Becoming a trainer bolstered my self-confidence both in my career and within my family.
I hope that inernational organisations can continue supporting my growth in this field, allowing me to become an expert in my career. Recognising my lack of expertise in nail services, I requested training, and my wish was granted last winter. This training helped me enhance my skills, but my hunger for knowledge remains unsatiated.
I also serve in the leadership position of a Beauty Salons Union. Our union connects with 80% of hairdressers in our region and the surrounding districts, creating a solid network of professionals.
From Crisis to Constraint: Overcoming COVID-19 and Ban on Salons — A Call for Support
The COVID-19 pandemic brought numerous interruptions to our businesses and my training for the interns. Initially slated for six months, the pandemic necessitated intermittent quarantines, causing breaks in our progress. To mitigate these challenges, I divided the interns into smaller groups, ensuring continuous training while minimising health risks. Unfortunately, I contracted the virus and spent a month in isolation.
While my salon’s location within the community reduced transportation costs for most interns, one intern lived farther away and heavily relied on incentives. When some delays happened in the incentive payment, I assisted her with some money to enable her to attend the classes. I also gave her some salon equipment like a table, chairs, and cosmetics and helped her to have her salon.
I firmly believe that programmes like these are essential for empowering Afghan women, particularly in the current context. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted to alternative approaches. However, recent developments have halted our progress, as the DfA officially banned our operations. Unable to run my beauty salon, I’ve turned to tailoring as an alternative source of income.’
In a country like Afghanistan, where women have been barred from education, work and largely a public life and where their mobility has been restricted; beauty parlours, in many ways served as one of the last remaining safe spaces for women.
There they could talk relatively freely about their bodies, make-up, fashion as well as about politics, the society — and how it had changed: topics that were either taboo or were not just considered women’s place. Samuel Hall’s research over the last three years also shows that these parlours were places where women could exchange vital information and access vital information on health, aid, vaccines, and resources.
Moreover, these parlours also offered a significant source of livelihood for many women over the past two decades. Now, with the recent ban on women’s beauty parlours, yet another space has been taken away from the women of Afghanistan.
This ban is a pertinent reminder to the international community that possible pathways to protection — including higher education — are made available and accessible to Afghans. Universities abroad can and should do more.
At the same time, we must continue engaging and investing in alternative and community-led initiatives for education and livelihoods such as radio-based education, home-based vocational training.
‘In these challenging times, maintaining our livelihoods without international support is difficult. While the skills we’ve acquired are invaluable, financial support is now critical due to the current economic challenges.
The ban on women’s work in beauty salons has severely affected our community. Most of us are grappling with mental health challenges, and many hairdressers have been forced to migrate illegally. We had one exceptional intern who possessed a remarkable talent for eyebrow tattooing. She lived with her mother and was the sole breadwinner of her family. To maximise her income, she worked with two other beauty salons. However, when the ban was enforced on salons, she faced the abrupt loss of her livelihood. In desperate circumstances, she resorted to illegal migration and left her home country for Iran, seeking opportunities to sustain her family.
My message to the international community is clear: we need support. Obtaining work permits for women or providing training opportunities abroad during these bans can be a lifeline for us. The resilience and skills we’ve acquired should not go to waste.’
Faiza* was interviewed as part of Samuel Hall’s Evaluation of the RADA project. Her story has been published with her consent and edited for clarity.
Other Recommendations
Our forthcoming evaluation report highlights key recommendations, which, if implemented, can support the Afghan community in their time of need. However, first and foremost, as Faiza points out, is the support from the International Community:
The international community needs to do more for the safety and security of Afghan girls and young women. There is a dire need for financial and livelihood support within the community and to ensure programmatic measures to seek safety and shelter abroad. The humanitarian response needs to be strengthened in the country. Countries with feminist foreign policies must offer a right of protection through their feminist diplomacy.
Other other recommendations include:
- Supporting further the localisation agenda: Funding should allow for more flexibility in funding to communities, including in emergency settings where funding is needed within hours of an emergency. To ensure the sustainability of interventions, to further capacitate communities to lead and to decrease dependency in a context where public services are lacking, future funding should be channelled directly to the communities in the same locations.
- Connect programme participants with suppliers: Involve beneficiaries more in the ordering of raw material and machinery. While some beneficiaries had claimed to not have the contacts to order the required material and machinery for work, others had claimed they could get similar equipment for cheaper. This would allow for beneficiaries to have an understanding of who the suppliers are in the market, and thus not be left in the unknown when IOM stops providing them with help.
- Expand marketing seminars and classes to fit in Apprenticeship. While it might be harder to understand the classes given low literacy skills they might need them more than most. Such classes, could be coordinated with their employer or be offered on a voluntary basis for those that wish to launch their own business separate from that of the employer they were placed with.
- Name changed to protect identity.
