“An estimated 30,000 Cambodian women have been trafficked into forced labor in neighboring Asian countries,” U.N. Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking reports.

And that number is rising.

However, Shaina Machlus ‘09 is trying to help fight this injustice with her work through The Trade Foundation.

This unique foundation pairs two things that normally are not associated with one another: hair and the sex trade.

Since graduating from Guilford College, Machlus has helped women in Cambodia escape the sex trade by teaching them the necessary skills to become successful hairdressers.

Most of these women are forced into the sex trade. Whether through extreme impoverished conditions or abuse, sex traffickers exploit these women and deprive them of their free will.

Some women believe prostitution is their only option to bring in enough money to survive. Some are even sold into the sex trade by their own families.

“Most of us grow up hearing that we can be whatever we want to be,” Machlus said to News & Record. “Most of them had never heard that. So the dynamic of choice was really powerful.”

In a culture where so much is based on looks, the choice to learn hairdressing can bring in enough financially to be a life-changer for women in Cambodia.

“People get their hair done every day, including women in the sex trade,” Machlus said to News & Record. “There were three to four salons on every block.”

Hair skills are not the only thing these women are being offered.

According to The Trade Foundation’s mission statement, students are also educated on how to run a small business and bring positive contributions to their surrounding communities.

“I really want to put power in peoples’ hands, and let them shape what it becomes,” Machlus said to News & Record.

Machlus has made great strides towards this, both with her work in Cambodia and her work with the Interactive Resource Center in Greensboro, where she offers haircuts to the homeless.

“She is what I would consider an ideal Guilford student: thoughtful, kind, politically conscious, culturally sensitive and aware, generous in spirit and loving,” said Associate Professor of English and Department Chair Diya Abdo, who also gets her hair done by Machlus.

Associate Professor of Justice and Policy Studies Sherry Giles also takes pride in Machlus’ post-Guilford achievements.

“I’m happy to see a Guilford alumna doing this work that hews so closely to the college’s core values,” said Giles.

Machlus plans to return to Cambodia this February to continue her work through The Trade Foundation.

“For everything I taught, I also gained,” Machlus said to News & Record. “The important parts of teaching, in addition to skills and job training tools, are the emotional tools and emotional support you give.”

Machlus’ work not only frees these women from the sex trade but also gives them a sense of power and control over their own lives.

“Empowering women is incredibly important, in any culture,” said Abdo.

“(Machlus’ work) certainly helps to create the conditions for women to develop the power to choose how they earn their living,” Giles said.

Machlus found the women she worked with had a lot to offer the world.

“I saw that first day that they were talented, artistic, intelligent and deserved to be treated as professionals,” Machlus said to News & Record.

As The Trade Foundation says on their site: “Education is the only lasting solution.”