Online commenters have praised and mocked an Indian woman who wears a moustache. The attention surrounding her facial hair, she claims, has not bothered her, BBC reports.
“I love my moustache,” Shyja from Kerala declares in her WhatsApp status, right below her photo.
The 35-year-old, who has never been shy about showing off her moustache, has received praise and trolling online. She claims, however, that she is unbothered by the attention that her facial hair has received.
“People make fun of me saying, ‘it’s men who have moustaches, why would a woman have one?'” Shyja told the BBC. “But isn’t that about what I like – what to keep and what not to?”
In addition to the trolls, there are people who really want to know why she keeps a moustache after seeing her images on Facebook or seeing her in person.”All I can say is that I just like it. A lot,” Shyja responded.
The mother of one lives in Kannur district, Kerala, a southern state of India, and like many other women, had wisps of facial hair above her lip for years. But while she kept her eyebrows threaded, Shyja said she never felt the need to remove the hair on her upper lip.
“I can’t imagine living without it now. When the Covid pandemic started, I disliked wearing a mask all the time because it covered my face,” Shyja said.
“I’ve never felt that I’m not beautiful because I have this or that it’s something I shouldn’t have. I just do what I like. If I had two lives, maybe I’d live one for others.”
Some of Shyja’s confidence may come from having battled health problems for years. She underwent six surgeries over a decade. Doctors removed a lump in her breast, and cysts in her ovary and five years ago, she went through surgery a hysterectomy to remove her uterus.
“Each time I came out of surgery, I would hope that I never had to go back into an operation theatre again,” she told the BBC.
Overcoming multiple health crises only strengthened Shyja’s belief that she should live her life in a way that makes her happy.