The Waxing Lady Tutorials is a new initiative by GharPar, a Pakistani mobile app for at-home beauty services services, and Indus Hospital to overcome Pakistan’s social taboos and teach women how to self-check for Breast Cancer. The campaign was created by Impact BBDO in collaboration with Contentory, Helipad Productions, and Walnut PR.
Pakistan has found an unusual ally in its fight against breast cancer – the waxing lady. In the conservative nation, millions of women hesitate to discuss breast cancer, or agree to get checked, even around their doctors or husbands, and as a result have no idea of how to self-check.
There is, however, one person with whom they have a very intimate connection and are especially open with when it comes to their bodies – their waxing lady. So, GharPar, Pakistani mobile app for at-home beauty services, in collaboration with Indus Hospital, recently trained their waxing ladies staff to offer customers breast self-exam tutorials.
GharPar’s new initiative, launched on World Cancer Day, smartly navigates around social taboos that prevent open discussions of Breast Cancer, not only spreading much-needed awareness about the topic, but finding a way to teach women how to self-examine.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer globally, and Pakistan has the highest number of incidents in Asia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 26,000 women in Pakistan were diagnosed with breast cancer, and over 13,500 women died of the disease in 2020.
Sahar Suleman of Indus Hospital, the institution that trained the waxing ladies, said, “We are glad to play a part in this initiative as healthcare partners to promote early detection of Breast Cancer in an effort to save precious lives of women in Pakistan.”
Early detection is key in the treatment of breast cancer. Experts recommend that women below the age of 40 should perform regular self-examinations and women above 40 should undergo regular mammography screenings. As a personal-care service provider, GharPar recognized its unique position as a brand that engages with women in a safe space and turned it into an educational tool. The brand tied up with Indus hospital to train more than a hundred salon workers so that they could pass on this valuable knowledge. Waxing ladies are often booked on a monthly basis, which now serves as a timely reminder to self-examine.
Shameelah Ismail, CEO GharPar Technologies Pvt Ltd , said, “‘Checkup GharPar is extremely close to my heart because we have a history of breast cancer in my own family. And despite having a history, many female family members refuse to get themselves tested. What I love about this campaign is that our beauticians have been trained by Indus Hospital to guide our very own clients on how to do self-examining of themselves. The app will have an option for female clients to opt in for this service. I hope that every time our clients call us for services, they are reminded to check themselves for a self-examination.”
With hundreds of bookings per day, across 6 cities in Pakistan, GharPar is hoping to remove the ignorance and stigma around breast cancer and make breast self-exam an integral part of self-care for women in Pakistan.
