Chennai: Banging their plates on the jail cell bars all day and night, not letting other inmates sleep, Nigerian drug peddlers at the Special Prison for Women in Chennai found this to be a way to express their displeasure, among other things.
After the director general of prisons in Tamil Nadu, Maheshwar Dayal, asked the reason for the commotion during his visit, a Nigerian inmate, *Julie, said she wanted to colour her hair.
After this conversation, a small room that once had just a comb, old handheld trimmers (as scissors are not allowed in prison) and water spray was transformed into a fully equipped beautician training centre and parlour.
Since its inauguration in June last year, the facility has offered services such as threading, waxing, facials, manicures, pedicures, hair colouring, hairstyling, makeup, and hair washes — all free of cost.
“Earlier, when my family came to visit me, they would be upset about how dull or tired I looked. Now, after getting facials every 15 days and threading my eyebrows, I look fresh as ever, and they are happy to see me,” said a prisoner.
“Because they were not able to groom or look after themselves, inmates were sullen and often depressed. This attitude has changed, and now they take effort to look after themselves and are planning to start a beauty parlour after they leave prison,” said Dayal.
The prison beautician training centre/parlour uses only branded hair care, make-up, beeswax and gel products.
While threading and facials are the most sought-after services, another popular choice is dreadlocks made by Nigerians and sported by Indian women.
“This has become a space where people who share the love for make-up and grooming spend time together and are able to earn money working as beauticians,” he added.
Inmates make 3,000 a month at the parlour working as a beautician.
Dayal says this offers them a sense of normalcy, especially when they have already been beauticians outside.
Many of them have learnt tricks and trades that they will be incorporating back home through the beautician training programme they receive in prison.
As a part of the programme, they learn various makeup styles, hair spa techniques, and even threading hacks.
*Julie, who had been using razors to groom people’s eyebrows, said she is going to introduce threading of eyebrows back home to those in her town in Ghana after she leaves.
Seeing how well the response has been, the state prison department has plans to expand this to other district prisons in Tamil Nadu.
(* names have been changed to keep their identities anonymous)