Habibti.Space - Opening a Women's Only Area

Goal met!

Thank you to everyone who supported our microproject for the opening of the ‘Habibti.Space’. Overall, we received 783 euros, which allowed us to: deep clean and renovate a private space for the women of Habibi.Works, purchase materials for the beauty courses which are currently running out of this space, and establish a monthly budget which will guarantee it to remain open and funded for the next year. To celebrate its opening, we held a women’s party at Habibi.Works, where more than 60 women came together to enjoy music, dancing, food, and have their hair and makeup done with the materials secured by donations such as yours. 

Today, the Habibti.Space serves a dual function: it is a safe place for women to gather, discuss, and build relationships. It also operates like another of our working areas. After on-going conversations with a group of women who have regularly visited Habibi.Works in the past year, it was decided that if a space dedicated to women would be created, the activities around it would be centered around cosmetology and cosmetology training. Beyond providing a service or material, the space offers on-going educational opportunities in nail care, hairdressing, threading, and makeup. 

In the months of September, October, and November of this year, five women completed a one-month nails training and certification course; four women completed a three week eyelashes training and certification course; and there is currently a three week training on hairdressing taking place. In this time, more than 50 individual appointments have taken place, with the students from the courses offering their skills at no cost to other women from the community. 

The women’s beauty space and the men’s barber are two unique working spaces in Habibi.Works in that they are entirely, and permanently, community-led. In line with the overall mission of Habibi.Works, the activities of this new area transfer knowledge, skill, and opportunity to an often overlooked demographic, in this case women. The presence of this space has prompted a much-needed evaluation of the ways in which we can enable a world where everyone can unfold their potential, and the limitations, both internal and external, we face in this vision.