Walking through Calle de Salvador on a Friday afternoon, one can see crowds of men and women from different backgrounds coming in and out of the Centro Cultural Islamico in Madrid for spiritual feeding. Just down the adjacent street of the Mosque is Masturah Salon. Masturah Salon is a beauty and hair shop specialized for Muslim women. This women salon was created in 2014 by Yasmin, a Spanish entrepreneur. It is the first ever Muslimah hair salon in Spain.
Spanish Entrepreneur: Meet the founder
Spanish Entrepreneur: Yasmin in front of her salon
Yasmin is a young Spanish entrepreneur who strives for the inclusion of Muslims and Women in her community.
Living in Spain as a Muslim woman, wearing the hijab (headscarf) could be very challenging. Some of the challenges include distrust and fear of the unknown, constant criticism, prejudice, little to lack of job opportunities etc.
Yasmin has had her fair share of all the challenges mentioned above. During her early career working in the tourism industry, Yasmin would only get jobs where she was behind the scenes or just making calls. All job applications requiring being seen by customers were turned down.
Hijab in the workplace is one of the most controversial topics in Europe. Muslims at work face all sorts of discrimination especially hijab discrimination. They aren’t giving basic employee rights and responsibilities when it comes religious expression in the workplace. This leads to many Muslim entrepreneurs.
Spanish Entrepreneur: Yasmin in China Town
Yasmin later switched to starting her own business. Her initial attempts failed due to negative prejudices from locals and limiting her market niche.
Despite everything, Yasmin still kept the entrepreneurial spirit burning not letting the external hurdles deter her; Masturah Salon was born.
Yasmin’s goal is to reach out to her community in order to create awareness, peace, and understanding of Muslims. She hopes to empower women to be their unapologetic selves and create the change they want to see.
Some awards that Yasmin has received are:
- Innovative Muslim Entrepreneur in Spain
- The Rochfield Foundation awarded Masturah Jobs for Social Change
- Talented Women Entrepreneurs of Spain by the US Embassy in Madrid.
When Yasmin is not working hard to change the world, you can find her drawing, traveling or taking pictures.
Masturah Salon
Masturah Salon is a place where Muslim women can feel comfortable to get their hair or makeup done. Most Muslim women generally prefer to safeguard their privacy. Masturah Salon offers exactly that. The salon has tinted glass windows that prevent passersby from looking in. The employees that cater to clients are all women.
Spanish Entrepreneur: Yasmin and friends in Masturah Salon
Other Project
Yasmin is currently working on another project, Masturah Jobs that assists Muslims women to break into the workplace.
For more information subscribe or follow Masturah Salon on the following channels:
Website: http://www.masturahsalon.com/
Facebook: Masturah
Twitter: @MasturahSalon
Instagram: Masturah_muslimsalon
[…] often face challenges when trying to find a job. In response to this, Spanish Muslim women like Yasmin create their own companies. Others, like the women in this interview with Cronica Cuatro, make […]