Rebuilding Afghanistanís Body and Soul Program Provides Beauty School Education to Widows in Kabul by Serena Lei The task of rebuilding Afghanistan is monumental, and hundreds of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and nonprofit groups have volunteered for the challenge. The question is: What does Afghanistan truly need to rebuild? How can we responsibly help a country that has fought for decades to get out from under foreign influence? Patricia OíConnor, co-organizer of The Body & Soul Wellness Program, is blunt: ìAnyone who is intelligent understands that if we donít help in a way that makes [Afghans] self-reliant, then we are wasting our time.î In 1996, Mary MacMakin founded PARSA (Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support for Afghanistan), which provides job-training programs for widows in Kabul and which would later serve as the inspiration behind OíConnerís program. PARSA is involved in other activities as well, such as distributing medical supplies and educational materials to orphanages. Those that know her speak of MacMakin with a near-reverent tone. The 72-year-old MacMakin had been living in Afghanistan for nearly 40 years. Her work with relief agencies in Afghanistan demonstrated to her the importance of self-sufficiency for realistic change. She set up workshops to teach job skills, such as dressmaking, silk weaving and woodworking, and sold handicrafts made by Afghan widows. USAID and the Feminist Majority Foundation helped fund her efforts, and supporters, including Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), have sold PARSA silk scarves and handicrafts in the United States. In July 2000, however, MacMakin was arrested by the Taliban, which accused her of spying and deported her. Undeterred, she continues to run PARSA from an office in Peshawar, Pakistan. The Beauty Program Terri Grauel wants to live her life in ìgratitude consciousness.î She said she feels energy in the handicrafts made by Afghan widows and remarks on the fateful coincidence that brought her in touch with MacMakin and OíConnor. In contrast, OíConnor is matter-of-fact and savvy, the business side of the equation. Together, they appear as an odd couple team behind The Body & Soul Wellness Program. They share a common goal and an admiration for MacMakin: ìThe person behind all of this is Mary MacMakin,î OíConnor said. ìShe is a really remarkable woman.î MacMakinís work inspired OíConnor and Grauel to develop The Body & Soul Wellness Program, which will be administered in Afghanistan through PARSA. The program will provide beauty school education to widows in Kabul and offer start-up funds for women who wish to open their own salons. Afghan-American beauty professionals are also being encouraged to re-establish ties with Afghanistan and help in these rebuilding efforts. The program is designed to be self-supportingóAfghan women who take the courses are asked to return and eventually teach courses. Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue magazine, donated $25,000 to Body & Soul and met with beauty manufacturers, including LíOreal, EstÈe Lauder and Revlon, to persuade them to donate supplies and review school curriculum. The majority of Afghan women are illiterate and do not have the luxury of going back to school while raising families. ìWhat kind of businesses can you set up that give [women] some kind of financial freedom so that their children can go to school,î OíConnor asked. The answer was beautiful: ìThe thing about the beauty industry is that you can do well and be taught the technical and creative skills, and yet be illiterate. The curriculum is very visualî and the courses are short. Sima Samar, Afghanistanís minister of womenís affairs, has set aside space for the workshops in Kabulís new womenís community center. Literacy classes and other support services will also be provided, separate from Body & Soul, and PARSA will be arranging for free transportation to the center. The Body & Soul Wellness Program recently held a three-day fundraiser in Washington, D.C., coined ìBring Out the Beauty.î From June 20 to 22, 30 participating salons donated a portion of their profits to the program. And on June 19, a launch party and fashion show were held at the Eighteenth Street Lounge to promote the fundraiser. Unfortunately, the message of Body & Soul was never clearly articulated. OíConnor was forced to shout above the noise of the exiting crowd as she stood on top of a chair by the bar. The donation box appeared surprisingly empty for a crowd of well-wishing, cosmopolitan advocates. A Profitable Industry Hassina Kazem, a spokeswoman for the Embassy of Afghanistan, believes that there is a market for beauty salons in Kabul now, even in the face of poverty. ìGetting their hair done is a necessity,î Kazem said. Whether or not a professional haircut is a necessity is questionable, but beauty is certainly a profitable industry. Underground beauty parlors were still in business under the Taliban, and salons that have opened recently have been well received, even with the lack of basic equipment. Hairdressers in refugee camps also opened makeshift salons in tents. ìItís not our idea, itís organic,î Grauel explained. ìWe are able to support them in their vision for themselves.î As both OíConnor and Kazem have pointed out, this is a time for weddings and celebrations in Afghanistanóprime time for beauty salons. Kazem also expects that the increase in travelers to Afghanistan will provide clientele. Grauel had the same idea, noting that ìthere will be NGOs, diplomats, people from all over the world going there to rebuild Afghanistan. Do you think that they would have their hair cut by someone who was not Western-trained?î Which brings us to the question of curriculum. When asked if she was concerned that the program might be importing Western beauty ideals to Afghanistan, Kazem responded emphatically: ìNot at all. Afghanistan was Westernized before the Soviet invasion. Afghanistan has always been Westernized. Iím not concerned about this at all.î ìI donít think ëWesterní is the right word,î OíConnor noted. ìItís universal Ö the principles of haircutting are the same. There are rules about cut and color Ö and you adapt it to the place or culture youíre in.î OíConnor said that the classes will allow for feedback and interaction. In addition, the women will be learning business skills such as bookkeeping, along with the fundamentals of hairstyling and make-up. Body & Soul is marketed as a program that will provide access to ìbeauty and wellness-related training and self-esteem and business building programs.î The fact that The Body & Soul Wellness Program was originally called The Body & Soul Beauty Program shows a conscious effort on the part of the organizers to market the program as more substantive than beauty. It can be argued that the program has little to do with health or wellness directly. Getting a good haircut may boost your self-esteem, but more important, so will acquiring the education to start your own business. In her explanation, OíConnor is aware of the skepticism surrounding beauty education in a war-torn country, where military action continues and basic needs are not being met. Body & Soul, however, attempts to meet those needs through job skills and financial independence. ìWe want to help them get back on their feet,î OíConnor said. ìItís easy for us to do this. It does not take a lot of time or moneyÖ. Everyone feels better when they have an education.î For more information on PARSA, please visit www.parsa-afghanistan.org. For more information on The Body & Soul Wellness Program, please visit www.bodyandsoulprogram.org. Serena Lei is an arts writer for The Washington Diplomat.