: How a Woman Uses Beautician Training in Her Pursuit to End Child Marriage Trafficking #IndiaNEWS #Human Trafficking Pinki Kurmi, from the remote area of Kalchini in West Bengal, discovered a newfound

How a Woman Uses Beautician Training in Her Pursuit to End Child Marriage Trafficking #IndiaNEWS #Human Trafficking
Pinki Kurmi, from the remote area of Kalchini in West Bengal, discovered a newfound zeal for life. Today, this 28-year-old wakes up every morning, looking forward to going to work every day. But just a year ago, she was sitting at home with no source of earning money and was completely dependent on her parents.

She would spend her days helping her mother, whereas what she actually wanted to do was support her family, financially. Her wish came true when she attended a free course in cosmetology and became a beautician.

“At first, I could not believe that the course was for free. I got trained in threading, haircutting, and makeup. Earlier, I had no source of income and I felt trapped at home. But today, I earn Rs 5,000 a month on average. It has given me so much confidence and the will to fend for myself,” says Pinki.

And she is not the only one, a similar tale was narrated by Nisha Orao from Dima, who used to work in tea gardens for minimum wages.

“My life has changed completely since I got this training. I come from a humble background, and the training has given me so much financial freedom. This has truly helped me find my footing,” she says.

Nisha, Pinki and 5,000 other women from in and around the areas of Hasimara, a small town in the Alipurduar district, like Salbari, Dima etc, have found new livelihoods, all thanks to 35-year-old Sukla Debnath. A graduate and a trained beautician, she is empowering the girls and women in her village single-handedly.

How? Well, here is her story.

Sukla trained 5,000 women from her village to be beauticians. Picture credit: Sukla Debnath

Helping Adivasi women take control of their future

Even as a young girl, Sukla would worry about her four older sisters and their marriage. Her father had a small sweet shop in Hasimara, and the family faced financial difficulties.

“As any father would, my baba also used to worry about our marriages. Having seen this, I decided that I will not be a burden to my family. In a small village like mine, women have only two options — work in the tea gardens or wait for marriage. But I wanted to break this cycle,” she recalls.

“I funded my own education by giving tuition to primary school kids. After completing my schooling, I sold my cycle for Rs 1,200 and paid the beautician’s course fee in 2003. It was a huge amount to be paid, but I did it,” she informs.

After completing the course, she had two paths to choose from. One was to earn money and support her family, and the other was to serve society, which mostly comprised people from the Adivasi community. And Sukla chose to do the latter, for more reasons than financial stability.