Hairdressing is my passion

Regine Nguini
4 minutes ago
3 min read

She is a mother, a wife, and an immigrant from Guinea who has spent the last four years weaving herself into the fabric of Maltese society, one braid at a time.

For our series Empowering Communities, we spoke with Mariam Kourouma, whose journey began in her childhood home in Guinea. "Hairdressing is my passion," she says, her eyes brightening. "This is work I have been doing since I was young. I was doing it at home, making my sister’s hair."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJXg-oZP5MI

When she moved to Malta four years ago, she brought a "career" etched into her fingertips. However, transitioning into a business owner in a foreign land is a feat that requires more than just talent.

Opening a business in Malta as a foreigner is not a simple matter of signing a lease. Mariam speaks of procedures that nearly stalled her dream.

Documentation: The legal requirements to hold a business license are stringent.
Capital: Starting from scratch without local credit history.
The Wait: The year she spent at home, doubting her future while her son started school.

"It was so difficult," Mariam recalls. "You cannot just open a shop just like that. You have to have strong documents. When I was at home doing nothing, I was doubting myself. I said, 'This is not the life I want.'

The unfair trope that migrant women from certain African backgrounds are discouraged from working by their husbands

One of the most striking elements of Mariam’s success is the subversion of cultural stereotypes. There is a common, often unfair trope that migrant women from certain African backgrounds are discouraged from working by their husbands. Mariam’s reality is the antithesis of this.

Her husband, a man of Sierra Leone origin with Maltese nationality, became her greatest investor, both financially and emotionally.

He picks up their seven-year-old son from school and brings him to the salon.
During her year of doubt, he was the one whispering, "Just have patience, we can try to open the business slowly."

"He supports me a lot," she emphasizes. This partnership allows Mariam to bridge the gap between being a business woman and a mother. When 5:30 PM hits, the salon becomes a family hub. She picks up her 20-month-old daughter, and for a few hours, the business of beauty and the business of parenting coexist.

Integration and Multiculturalism

While Mariam is an expert in African styles such as box braids, cornrows and Ghana weaves, her chair is occupied by a diverse clientele.

Nationalities and more nationalities	Service Type
Maltese	Extensions and braided styles
Filipino	Sleek styling and maintenance
Italian	Fashion-forward braiding
English	Global trends

One customer, Michelle, exemplifies this cultural blending. Michelle, who has a Nigerian boyfriend, comes for the hair and for the connection. They discuss food and the nuances of Nigerian culture. It is in these small exchanges that the fear of the other evaporates.

To belong is to speak

Mariam’s children are already fluent in Maltese, and she herself peppers her speech with local phrases:

Kif inti? (How are you?)
Mhux hekk! (Isn't it so! / Not exactly.)

Through her children, she learns the rhythm of the island. Her daughter’s favorite lullaby is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, learned at a local Maltese school.

Her own line of products: Sister Mariam Shea Butter

Mariam is also an advocate who takes a firm stance against a controversial practice in the community: chemical relaxers for young children.

"The children’s scalp is very young. The relaxer is more powerful," she warns. "I do not support the parents putting a relaxer on young children's hair."

Instead, she has developed her own line of products: Sister Mariam Shea Butter. By promoting natural hair health, she is teaching a new generation of African-Maltese children to love their natural texture.

As the interview concludes, Mariam leaves a message for other women who feel stuck behind the walls of migration or domesticity: