The beauty standards that are applied to men are much different than those applied to women. For example, body hair on men is regarded as sexy – especially if he has a well-groomed beard. But facial or body hair on a woman is considered to be repulsive.
However, shattering all stereotypes is a 35-year-old woman from Kerala named Shyja. She has a moustache and she is not afraid to carry it with pride.
According to India Today, Shyja, who hails from Kannur, regularly got her eyebrows threaded but she never considered removing the hair on her upper lip. 5-years ago, when her upper-lip hair began to thicken, she decided to keep it that way!
“All I can say is that I just like it. A lot,” she said.
In fact, she claimed that during the pandemic, she disliked wearing a mask because it would cover her unique feature. Now, this is a massive lesson on self-confidence!
“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. I’ve never felt that I’m not beautiful because I have this or that it’s something I shouldn’t have.”
However, she also faces unnecessary judgements and scrutiny from society where people poke their noses into her business. But Shyja doesn’t sport the moustache to make a statement, reported BBC. She has it because she likes it, that’s it. Even her family has been extremely supportive, especially her daughter who says that the moustache looks rather good on her.
“People make fun of me saying, ‘it’s men who have moustaches, why would a woman have one?’ I just do what I like. If I had two lives, maybe I’d live one for others,” she said.
Having suffered a varied number of physical ailments like a lump on her breast and cysts on her ovary, and undergoing surgeries for them including a hysterectomy, Shyja is grateful for her life, however it may be.
Shyja is an example of a woman living her life unapologetically! 🙂