Thirty-five-year-old Shyja from Kerala is breaking gender stereotypes, and in a unique way! She is sporting with pride a lustrous moustache – yes, you heard it right! While facial hair in a woman is traditionally considered undesirable in a woman, for Shyja, her moustache is the most attractive part about her. “I love my moustache,” Shyja declares in her WhatsApp status section, below a photo of herself.
The Kannur district resident of Kerala told BBC, “I’ve never felt that I’m not beautiful because I have this or that it’s something I shouldn’t have.” Obviously, many didn’t take kindly to her sporting a tash and she has been trolled for her choice too. She said that people have told her that it’s men who sport moustaches, so why should women have one! But Shyja says that it’s her choice and it’s for her to decide “what to keep and what not to”.
Shyja says she can’t now live without her facial hair. When Covid-19 pandemic began, everyone had to wear a mask, a fact that Shyja didn’t like. While she has been questioned and trolled by many, Shyja’s friends and family have remained her staunch supporters. Her daughter is her biggest strength and tells her mother that the moustache looks good on her.
According to news reports, Shyja gets her eyebrows threaded but she loves to grow her moustache. A part of her attitude also comes from having endured health problems over the years. She has had six surgeries over a decade – one to remove a breast lump, another to remove ovary cysts and the last surgery was a hysterectomy, which took place around five years ago. “Each time I came out of surgery, I would hope that I never had to go back into an operation theatre again,” she said.
