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Shahnaz Husain rose to fame as the iconic face of India’s herbal beauty business.
shahnaz-husain
Married and a mother at 16, Shahnaz Husain started with a loan of Rs. 35,000 from her father and a verandah as her workshop. Today her herbal beauty business has progressed to 400 franchisees all over the world and her beauty products are sought after by the rich and the famous.
Shahnaz Husain had a profound interest in beauty and cosmetics apart from being a prolific writer. So, when her husband was transferred to Tehran, she started writing for a beauty magazine to provide for her higher education in cosmetics and beauty.
She soon realized that most skin disorders are due to the absorption of cheap cosmetics and hence turned towards nature and started churning out natural cures and herbal cosmetic products.
Shahnaz Husain has represented India at a number of global conventions and events. In 1980, she attended the CIDESCO World Beauty Congress and was chosen as the President and a year later, she was named Chairman of the International Beauty Congress.
Shahnaz Husain was awarded the Udgoy Rattan Award for Export Excellence. Success magazine lauded her with the World’s Greatest Entrepreneur Award and she became the first woman after a huge gap of 107 years to receive it.
Why we find her inspiring:
– Marriage did not deter her from completing her education and her dream
– She battled with adversaries and moulded herself according to the circumstances to achieve success
*Photo credit: iloveindia
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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