Beauty parlours doing roaring business

A few years ago, new schools seemed to appear almost overnight along streets across the city. Today beauty parlours have cropped up in almost equal number.

Judging by the success many seem to enjoy, ranging from the plush, chrome-coated interiors of salons that list leading film stars among their clients, to dingy, one-room affairs furnished with an odd mirror and a few chairs in the heart of Katchi Abadis, business is booming.

In fact, training for a career in the beauty business is among the most popular choices for girls leaving high schools and colleges, and has superseded the traditional professions of teaching or nursing, as the work option a growing number of girls are picking.

"The reasons for this are simple. It makes money and the girls deal essentially with an 'all female' clientele, making it easier for families to accept that they work," says Naila, who offers training opportunities to young girls at a parlour in the Shadman area.

She also says girls with "training in the beauty business" are in demand in the marriage market, as "prospective in-laws believe they will keep themselves well-groomed, bring in money and yet work in a 'respectable' business".

The demand for parlour services, in areas such as the low-income settlements at Fazlia Colony and Rehmanpura, is new. Women who had previously applied henna to their hair at home now trudge off to salons for a range of services. Clearly, the huge appeal of cable television and its programming focusing on show biz has had an impact. So, too, has the desire to "match" women from upper class backgrounds.

"We may be poor, but there is no reason why we can't look good. In fact many of us are better looking than girls who live in large houses and think no end of themselves," says Saima. Saima works as a maid but is training at a salon, and hopes to run her own business one day.

"I set up my parlour only three weeks ago. Earlier I had worked at another salon. It is doing well, and since it is based in my own house, I can keep an eye on affairs all the time," said Naseem, 39, whose one-room parlour is the latest to crop up in the Shah Jamal Katchi Abadi.

While the profession is generally regarded as "respectable" some of the shadier parlours have been known to branch out into prostitution.