From reflection to self-perception
While Khadija Shah was mopping floors at her children’s school, she dreamed of a better life for herself and her family. She never imagined that just a year later, she would be running her own beauty salon with clients across Pakistan.
“I often thought about my life while I was cleaning. I wondered, is this all there is? Is this how things will always be? But then I heard about a course organized by Norwegian Church Aid, and I thought—now or never. What happened next changed my life forever,” Khadija Shah smiles as she welcomes us into her home in Lahore.
She lives in a bustling part of the historic city with her five children and husband, Irfan Ali. Though she comes from modest circumstances and has struggled to make ends meet, she never limited her dreams. When she heard about the opportunity to take a beauty care course, she seized it.
“For three months, I learned pedicures, manicures, skincare, and hair care. It was just so much fun,” she says.
She also learned the special threading technique used to remove unwanted hair.
Khadija was so inspired by the course that the first thing she did when she got home was transform her bedroom into a beauty salon.
“The first thing I bought was, of course, a mirror. You can’t have a beauty salon without a mirror,” she laughs.
Her laughter and smile come easily now, but it hasn’t always been that way.
“Life was hard, and I felt completely invisible. No one noticed me—I was like nobody. I cleaned and tried to earn enough so we could send our children to school.”
The transformation after the course wasn’t just financial.
“I’ve changed. I have a much better self-image and confidence. But what means the most to me is how my children see me, especially my daughters. They see that it’s possible to change your life, and that girls can become businesswomen too. That makes me proud and deeply moved.”
Her salon is overflowing with products—creams, shampoos, hair clips, nail polish, and everything needed for skin, hair, and foot care.
“I even get assignments to style brides several miles outside Lahore,” she beams, adding that she also travels to clients’ homes when needed.
With increased income, she has invested in everything from a makeup chair to more equipment, and she’s quick to show off the latest trends in the industry. She has clients every working day and earns 40,000 Pakistani rupees a month.
“Now I no longer have to rely on others. I’m taken seriously and I’m no longer invisible—people listen to me and notice me. I’m a businesswoman, and that’s how people see me. I’m independent and I feel independent. It’s an indescribable feeling.”
With better income, her quality of life has also improved. Her children now attend a better school, and it’s no longer a struggle to make ends meet. If one of the children gets sick, she can afford to see a doctor. She’s even bought air conditioning for the salon.
But Khadija isn’t stopping here. When we ask where she’ll be the next time we visit, she answers quickly:
“Then I’ll be running a big salon in the busiest commercial area of Lahore. I’ll have my own premises, lots of clients and maybe I’ll expand into a chain?”
She’s not short on ambition, and when we ask what kind of support she needs to make it happen, her message is clear:
“I need a business plan, support to grow on social media, and help with marketing myself.”
She’s never lost faith that she can succeed but says it wouldn’t have been possible without her husband’s support.
“He takes care of the kids when I have clients, and he fully supports me in this—even though he also has his own job. He’s proud of me, and I hear from other women around me that they’re inspired. I see that I’m helping to inspire others. That’s why I can’t stop now, I must keep dreaming big,” she smiles.
The course and project are run in collaboration with our partner Sharakat and funded by the European Union.
