The documentary,The Beauty Academy of Kabul, is the story of six American hairdressers --funded by the Beauty Industry---who go to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2003 to open a beauty school.

On the surface, it's the story of Americans trying to teach Afghani women how to offer "trendy styles" and makeup to their clientele.

But there's an entirely different level to this documentary and that is the reality of the working world of Afghani women.

There is a scene in the documentary where one of the American Instructors is reprimanding the students for not wearing makeup to school. In an exasperated tone she admonishes them saying 'how can they expect to offer the women of Kabul the latest trends if they don't wear make-up themselves.'

Watching that scene my assumption is that in 2003 the cosmetics industry thought that Afghanistan would be a a great new market and that by training these women, they would have a distribution system for their products.

It was only when the women explained that their husbands only allow them to wear makup for special occassions that the American began realizing the cultural divide and that Afghanistan may not become a lucrative market for American cosmetics.

These women may be working but they have little or no say about most aspects of their lives including whent they can or cannot leave their homes.

Many of the beauty salons in Afghanistan are in the women's homes which means they work without leaving their houses. They are under the constant control of their husbands.

Last May, the Christian Science Monitor ran a feature on Afghan women starting businesses. However, the sub-head is a bit optimistic-- giving the reader the impresssion that thousands of Afghani women now have the financial means to be independent.
The subhead:

Some 10,000 women have been trained as entrepreneurs, some of whom are now economically self-sufficient.

However, if you read the entire article, you get a very different impression.

Even in post-Taliban Afghanistan, the idea of women owning businesses and working is still somewhat taboo. For some it's even been life threatening. Parlika says she's been shot at twice in the past three years in the course of training some 500 women to be entrepreneurs. Tolerance is growing, she says, but she still feels insecure.

Others point out that some women, despite owning businesses, still lack control of their profits.

"When a woman makes a carpet, their brothers or fathers often take the money," says Ms. Banwal of the Women's Affairs Ministry. "Although it's spent on the family, it's still not going directly to them."

However, there are glimmers of hope that women entrepreneurs can achieve some financial indepenence. Last month Women's eNews ran a story about
an Italian aid agency training Afghani women in fields that are dominated by men. Sixty women are now ready to start work as caterers, lantern-makers, gem-cutters and mobile phone repair technicians.

The majority of women accepted into this program are either widows, orphans or women whose fathers and/or husbands cannot work.

Although Afghanistan's constitution now guarantees equal rights for women, customs restricting their movement still remain. Some women, especially those from more affluent or liberal families, have the freedom to leave their homes, but for others it is still forbidden, especially if their work will put them into contact with male colleagues. Women traveling alone still face harassment in the streets.
Layer of Protective Approval

Recognizing the difficulty the women had in leaving their neighborhoods, Italian Cooperation located the training center near their homes and worked with the local shura--the group of elders that make decisions in the community--to gain their support and give the women a layer of protective approval. The women are able to walk in to the center and their families and neighbors can visit and see what happens there. Once the first step was taken, it has now become possible for the women to travel further.

It's hard to leave the documentary without an overwhelming sense of sadness and hopelessness for the plight of these women.

One of the women interviewed in the documentary shared that she now signficantly out-earns her husband . When asked if that bothers him, she said "no, he's happy."

Why not? She still does all the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids in addition to her work in her salon. She has no say over any decisions about her life.

The hope is that once women begin having economic "independence" -- if that's what you can call it in Afghanistan---then the supression of women's rights will end.

We'll have to hold that thought. It doesn't feel like its going to change anytime soon.

You can listen to an interview on NPR's Fresh Air with the film's director Liz Mermin and academy teacher Shaima Ali.

If the documentary is not playing in your community, you can sign up for an email alert letting you known when it's on DVD.

Image Credit: Shadow Distribution