This story is the answer to all the people who believe that only a son can carry forward the heritage of their parents.
Next time, when you hear such people dismissing your daughter’s potential, you tell them that we live in a country where teenager daughters took over their father’s Men’s Salon and turned it around!
Yes, Men’s salon run by two teenage sisters: 18-year-old Jyoti Kumari and 16-year-old Neha in Uttar Pradesh – is the talk of the country.
In 2014, when the only bread-winner of the family – the father of two teenage sisters – fell ill, the family’s only source of income came to a halt. The girls were left with no other choice but to take care of their father’s business.
But how challenging is it for women to run a barbershop, where the major clientele is men?
And how difficult is it to do that, in a country where many girls are murdered by their own parents before they are born?
Very Difficult.
And, these girls knew how difficult it would be.
So, for four years, the girls hid their identity and pretended to be boys in order to run their father’s barbershop!
While sharing their initial hardships with The Guardian, Jyoti mentioned:
“The customers were sceptical about getting their moustaches trimmed and hair cut by women and did not behave well with them. So we decided to change our whole get-up so that none could identify us”
The girls underwent a makeover – they cut their hair short and changed their names to Deepak and Raju.
Neha added,
“So, almost 100 families in their villages knew their identities but the people coming from surrounding communities had no idea”
Because of their persistence, hard work and determination, the sisters managed to earn almost 400 rupees every day. Just enough money to pay for their father’s treatment and support the family.
Talking about her hardships, Neha further shared,
“We faced a lot of troubles when we started the job in 2014. Others in the village mocked us but we ignored them and focused on work since we had no other option.”
They not only got their family back on track, but these sisters also made sure their education isn’t affected. Continuing their studies in the morning, the girls used to open the shop in the afternoon. Jyoti has now graduated and Neha is still studying.
With time not only they gained enough confidence to stand against society and their rudimentary thoughts, but also reached a stage where they don’t fear anyone and hence, are reclaiming their identities as girls.
Dhruv Narayan, the proud father of girls, said:
“This gives me a lot of pain when I find them at work but I am very proud of my daughters. They have extricated the family out of a sudden crisis.”
In order to celebrate their spirit and determination, the two girls were also honoured by the government.
This real story made us remember the Aamir Khan’s famous inspirational message –
“Not Sons… They Are My Daughters!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Ekj5vcBSM
If you still believe daughters are any less, please read the story again because you missed the whole point!
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