The Ambassadors (July 2004) -- Educators Without Borders

Educators Without Borders

"DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ARE A WORTHY CAUSE IN ALL CULTURES AND ALL RACES"

- Nobel Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi

Beauticians Without Borders

By The Ambassadors Research Foundation

In Kabul, Afghanistan, 25 women began an 8-month course entitled "Beautification without Borders", run by two American women Debbie Rodriquez and Patricia O'Connor last February to provide job training for widows and uneducated girls. The $1.3 million training program is funded by major cosmetic companies including Revlon, L'Oreal and Clairol. The program which began last year had 400 applicants for this year's session.

When the Taliban regime collapsed in 2001, there were only a handful of salons in the capital, now there are hundreds. Mrs. Nafisa Omed, a 40-year-old mother of five, ran a secret salon during the Taliban years. Last year she took the Beauty Without Borders class to update her skills, and now styles hair and applies make-up to a stream of young women in her home. She recalled that many of her customers during the Taliban years were the wives of the militants. They asked for curls in front of their head and would not ask for make-up.

Ms. Rodriquez went to Kabul as a volunteer relief worker and noticed that Afghani women use henna for their hair. As a hairdresser for 25 years, she now teaches four basic haircuts, how to dye, how to create fancy hairstyles for weddings, and the application of cosmetics.

"This educates the women. It gets them off the streets so they can feed their families and we teach them how to operate their own business," said Mrs Rodriquez, from Michigan. "Women here love make up. All you have to do is go to a wedding to see that."

Opening a salon is also one of the few ways for women to earn an income. Most men will not allow their wives to work in a job that involves contact with other men, so beauty salons are a popular option.

Trina Ahmedi, 25, who took the Anna Wintour Award top-prize in last years class (a pair of $600 scissors) said "the beauty school is not always well received by Afghans, who are uneasy about the Westernization of their culture and teaching women 40 different ways of applying make-up."