LAHORE: In socially conservative Pakistan where millions of women are denied their basic right to work, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has set a new trend by setting up an eatery, run by an entirely all-women staff.
Nestled in a sprawling food court in Lahore’s massive Packages Mall, the busy KFC branch in the eastern Pakistani city is now the country’s first eatery where the cooking, managing, cleaning, and serving is run solely by women staffers handling hundreds of daily orders, with no men in sight except for in the customer queue.
Huma Farooq, manager at the branch is only 26 years old but rose through the ranks quickly after starting out as a front-desk worker.
“In Pakistan, women are taught to manage their house,” Farooq told Arab News. “They do everything for their homes. They clean, cook and serve. This branch is different from the others. Women take it as their home and ... give it their best,” she said.
“We all treat each other like sisters or relatives and share each other’s burdens,” she said.
And that sisterhood seems to be bringing in results in the form of revenue targets, which are being more than met.
“Honestly speaking, the all-female branch is giving the best performance, and feedback from the customers is really encouraging,” KFC’s Chief Operating Officer in Lahore, Hamayun Sajid, told Arab News.
“The idea behind launching an all-female branch was to give empowerment to women and to encourage (other) women to follow the trend,” he said.
KFC now plans on launching more women-run branches in other major Pakistani cities, including Islamabad and Karachi.
Ramiz Khan, 16, a student on his first visit to Pakistan from Dubai, told Arab News that a trip to the chicken joint unwittingly changed his view of the country.
“The restaurant has changed my perception about Pakistan,” he said. “It is my first trip to the country as I was born and raised in Dubai. I can say that Pakistan is not (as) conservative as portrayed generally.”
The praise was unrelenting from customers at the tables and standing in the queue, as the staffers were hard at work behind the scenes and at the counters.
Another customer from Lahore, Sabata Shah, told Arab News, “I love fried chicken and often go to KFC. After visiting this branch, I can tell you that I was quite comfortable here as I was being handled by women.”
“Women from conservative backgrounds normally don’t feel comfortable with male waiters or order-takers in restaurants,” she said. “But here, they will be.”