Author: Grana Ziia, AFEW-Kyrgyzstan
March 7, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
The city is stuck in pre-holiday traffic jams. Flower stands with colourful tulips are opening near a big shopping mall. Today flowers are in demand among the guests of a new beauty salon called Good Luck. They are doing their best to come in time for the opening ceremony. The salon is located in the city centre, surrounded by popular coffee houses, schools and apartment buildings. There is a red ribbon at the entrance to the salon. Music is playing. The guests are holding bright flowers, balloons, and cakes in their hands. Everyone is hugging, greeting each other and congratulating the AFEW-Kyrgyzstan team. It is easy to tell what the reason for such joy is.
“Good Luck is a ‘kind’ beauty studio – a social enterprise established to support women in difficult life circumstances. We opened it with the support of the UN Women Fund for Gender Equality. We are implementing a project, where women can attend workshops to develop their personal skills and knowledge of the economy and then receive mini-grants to start their own businesses. When we saw that there were many women who needed our support, we decided that we wanted to develop this area of our activities,” tells Natalya Shumskaya, head of AFEW-Kyrgyzstan, before cutting the red ribbon.
Supporting those who need support
In several minutes, the guests come inside. In the main room, they are welcomed by the staff members – six women in snow-white uniforms. They have happy smiles on their faces and are proudly fixing their badges. In the room, there are black chairs for make-up artists and hairdressers, a long manicure table and mirrors with bright lights.
The studio looks like a cosy house, where every detail is chosen with love. The pink wall in the centre of the room has been painted by the salon staff. There are bright pillows on the couch and glossy magazines on the glass table. Lots of flowers and balloons. Make-up, shampoos and hair dye tubes on the shelves. You just feel like touching, watching and trying everything here.
After the welcoming speeches, the Good Luck salon gets noisy. The clients in their chairs are turning catalogues to choose their nail polish, discussing their haircuts with hairdressers or choosing the colour of their eyebrows. Someone is already washing hair. At first sight, it looks like those are just ordinary people preening their feathers on the eve of the International Women’s Day. However, if you listen to people talking, it becomes clear that it is not so simple.
“For us it is close, so we will come and support them. It is good when all the money earned goes to help women who need help,” shares her thoughts Aida Karagulova, Director of the City AIDS Centre.
Women will be trained
Clients were satisfied with the services they received. The guests were making photos and paying compliments to each other. With their new haircuts, make-up and nails done, they went on to finish their festive preparations.
“We have a training centre here at the salon, where we plan to train women in difficult life circumstances to become beauty salon artists so that they can find jobs,” says Indira, the salon manager, taking us on a tour to show the premises.
Natalya Shumskaya presents a flower in a big pot to the studio and it takes an honourable place at the entrance. The flower is called Women’s Bliss.
“Here it is a good place for this plant as this salon works for those who are looking for their bliss so hard! I am sure that this beauty studio will become a turning point in someone’s life, helping to find a job, start a new career and believe in the woman’s power and right to independence,” says Natalya Shumskaya before she leaves the salon.
