Shyja, a 35-year-old woman from Kannur, Kerala is going viral for breaking gender stereotypes and growing a moustache. Why does she grow it? Because she loves it!
Shyja, who only goes by her first name, doesn’t feel the need to trim her moustache, and loves the way she looks in it. Her moustache might have garnered mixed reactions online, but the criticism doesn’t faze her at all.
"I've never felt that I'm not beautiful because I have this or that it's something I shouldn't have,” she said in an interview with BBC. Shyja also spoke about how she didn’t like wearing a mask during the pandemic because it covered her moustache.
“I love my moustache. I can't imagine living without it now. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, I disliked wearing a mask all the time because it covered my face," she explained. In a time when more and more women are breaking gender stereotypes and embracing body hair, Shyja’s decision has come as an inspiration to many. Not just that, but the way her resolve is undeterred by trolls and their comments is nothing short of commendable.
This bravery, however, comes as a result of great struggle. According to the BBC, Shyja has gone through several surgeries and has battled some serious health issues. One surgery was to remove a lump for her breast, another was to remove the cysts in her ovaries, and she even went through a hysterectomy five years ago. In all, she has had six surgeries in the past decade alone, and has now decided to live life on her own terms.
"Each time I came out of surgery, I would hope that I never had to go back into an operation theatre again," she says.
Shyja was brought up in a highly patriarchal society, and experienced being free and independent only after she got married and moved to Tamil Nadu. She talks about how her husband worked late, and that she had to go in the neighbourhood by herself, sometimes even late at night, to buy the things she needed. “As I learnt to do things on my own, it built my confidence," she explained.
All of this has only helped her become more and more assertive about what she wants to be and what she wants to look like. Here’s to her courage and her unique, fearless look!
(With inputs from BBC).
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