Trailblazing Women Empower Themselves with Beauty Parlor
SUHAIL KHAN
HAJIN, Feb 13: Bilquesa Majeed, Shaheena Nazir, and Fancy Akhter, three women from the Naidkhai area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, have opened the first beauty parlour in the area with the help of the Umeed Back scheme.
The idea for the business came after the women observed the formation of self-help groups in their neighborhood. They received training from the Rural Self-Employment Training Institute in Bandipora, which is sponsored by the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) through the Umeed Scheme.
The trio, while talking with Kashmir Despatch, said that they see positive results so far and are hopeful that our business will provide us with a livelihood. We have received an overwhelming response from customers since we opened just 15 days ago.
The women expressed their gratitude towards the Umeed Scheme for providing them with the opportunity to start their own business and towards the NRLM department for providing them with a loan. They also thanked their cluster heads for their support and guidance in availing of the government scheme.
Umeed is a government initiative aimed at helping women become self-sufficient and independent. The success of Bilquesa, Shaheena, and Fancy’s businesses is a testament to the impact of such programs.
Pertinently, The Mission of Umeed scheme aims to reduce poverty by building strong grass-root institutions for the poor, engaging them in gainful livelihood interventions, and ensuring an appreciable improvement in their income on a sustainable basis.
As per the data available with Kashmir Despatch, through UMEED, hundreds of women are not only scripting their success stories in Jammu and Kashmir but are also motivating others to come out of poverty and become successful entrepreneurs. UMEED is greatly assisting female entrepreneurs in exhibiting and marketing their products.
Suhail Khan is a filmmaker, content writer, and freelance journalist.
