These two Indian girls have been defying gender stereotypes in their village for years – and now they’re being rewarded for their hard work.
Neha and Jyoti are known as “The Barbershop Girls” of Banwari Tola village in Uttar Pradesh.
The youngsters earned their nickname back in 2014 when their father fell ill. Despite the fact that this career field is entirely dominated by men, the sisters took charge of their father’s barbershop so they could pay for his medical treatment — and their own education. The girls even disguised themselves as boys in order to avoid confrontation over working in a male-dominated profession.
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Upon hearing the story of The Barbershop Girls, Gillette shaving company gave them scholarships to pay for their education.
The scholarships were presented by famed cricket player Sachin Tendulkar earlier this week. Not only that, he allowed the girls to give him a shave – which was apparently the first shave he’d ever received from another person.
The athlete posted a picture of the event to his Instagram page, saying: “You may not know this, but I have never gotten a shave from someone else before. That record has been shattered today. Such an honor to meet the Barbershop Girls.”
Gillette also published a video about the story of the Barbershop Girls – and it has racked up millions of views since it was posted at the end of April.
Tendulkar further emphasized the messaging of the #ShavingStereotypes video campaign by saying: “The blade that shaves, does not know whether a girl or a guy is using it.
“I think this is the most important line of the video, because if dreams do not discriminate then why do we?” says Tendulkar. “We should always remember the kids of today are watching and they learn from what they see. I hope lots of kids today will see how Neha and Jyoti and their village has shown great courage and right attitude to break stereotypes and move forward.”
(WATCH the #ShavingStereotypes ad below)
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