It was their everyday job as beauticians to make each customer look as beautiful and attractive as they could be and they loved it. But the thought of suddenly leaving their familiar work and going back to their villages to live off the land would have never crossed their minds.
Sadly, though, this is the harsh reality for the Adivasi Garo community in Tangail’s Madhupur upazila. Once beauticians working in beauty salons in various cities and towns, these women are now working as hired farmhands for landholders, earning wages on a daily basis to support their families during this coronavirus pandemic.
To make matters worse, the fact that they are from an ethnic minority group and on top of that all being women, makes it difficult for them to be hired for the job. And so without jobs and without any governmental or non-governmental support, they are living extremely difficult lives.
Kanti Hajong, a young woman from Bhutiya, said: “I began working at a beauty parlour in Bogra at the beginning of this year. However, as the parlour shut down due to countrywide lockdown, I became unemployed and had to come back home three months ago. Now, I work as a farmhand and support my family side by side with father, who pulls his van for a living.”
She also said she used to make Tk8,000 per month working at the beauty parlour and now she makes Tk200-300 after a hard day's work at the fields from dawn to dusk. “A lot of girls like are working at the fields to survive this pandemic, so I ask the government to provide us with some support.”
Eugene Nokrek, president of Adivasi Development Council in Madhupur, said: “There are almost 1,100 women from Madhupur who used to work in beauty parlours in various cities and towns. Now, they are working as day labourers being unemployed due to the coronavirus situation. I sincerely hope the government comes to their aid and ease their sufferings.”
“This pandemic has destroyed all our dreams and pushed our lives into a future filled with uncertainties. Meanwhile, no one has thought to extend their helping hands as we struggle to save ourselves from the effects of this current economic condition,” said Diti, a parlour worker working in the fields in Chunia.
Chunia is a village in Madhupur upazila, which is known as the village of beauticians. A number of girls, including Diti, Ria and Sushmita are now living off the land despite the fact that none of them are professional labourers.
William Dazel, of Madhupur Adivasi Welfare Trust, said: “The girls from beauty parlours cannot get hired as farmhands as they are not considered full-time professionals. But even if they do get hired some days, on other days they go without any food on the table.”
Sholakuri Union Parishad Chairman Akhtar Hossain said that beauty parlour workers’ loss of jobs has also had a significant impact on the local economy. “They have yet to receive any relief or aid from the government or any other organization.”
Speaking on the issue, Madhupur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Arifa Johura said: “We are preparing a list of all ethnic women who’ve lost their jobs as beauticians so that we can distribute government relief among them during this time of need.”
