Shyja, a 35-year-old Indian woman from Kerala, is making headlines for flaunting her moustache proudly.
“I love my moustache,” her WhatsApp status section reads. “All I can say is that I just like it. A lot.”
“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 added.
“I’ve never felt that I’m not beautiful because I have this or that it’s something I shouldn’t have.”
Talking about her love for her moustache, Shyja said, “I just do what I like. If I had two lives, maybe I’d live one for others.”
Shyja has battled many health problems. She had six surgeries in the last decade, one to remove a lump in her breast and another to remove cysts in her ovary. Her most recent procedure was a hysterectomy 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 says.
Shyja’s family and friends are supportive of her choices. Her daughter frequently tells her that she looks good with a moustache. However, Shyja claims she has received a variety of comments from people.
“People make fun of me saying, ‘It’s men who have moustaches, why would a woman have one?'”
Shyja’s friends frequently respond angrily to these comments on Facebook, but she says it doesn’t upset her at all.
