Former make-up artist Ahmed, founder of social online group ‘The Soul Sisters Pakistan’, spotted the need for a safe space for women to vent after spending time soothing nervous brides as they confided in her from the salon chair. — Kanwal Ahmed/AFP
LAHORE, Pakistan: “Women in Pakistan are really, really strong. We have a voice. We just don’t have enough spaces to use that voice,” says Kanwal Ahmed, an agony aunt to some 260,000, determined to change the situation.
Her female-only online hub sees traditionally taboo topics such as sex, divorce, and domestic violence discussed freely in a conservative country where there are few avenues for women to discuss personal problems.
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Former make-up artist Ahmed, founder of social online group ‘The Soul Sisters Pakistan’, spotted the need for a safe space for women to vent after spending time soothing nervous brides as they confided in her from the salon chair. — Kanwal Ahmed/AFP
Women talk as they check out the social online group ‘The Soul Sisters Pakistan’ on their Facebook page, in Lahore. — AFP
Ahmed says her Facebook group is somewhere women can freely ‘talk about things that they weren’t supposed to talk about in society’ because they are deemed inappropriate or shameful. — AFP
Soul Sisters Pakistan members say they can speak openly about issues – such as maternal and mental health, body image and reproductive rights – with a candour that is impossible in the real world. — AFP
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