Mukandutiye Monique, 54, who was born in Busasamana in Rubavu District, says that she lives in anxiety, where she says that she is being subjected to violence by some of the residents because she has a beard.
The mother who has a husband and five children, appears to have a lot of beard on her face, she says that she also noticed that the signs of the beard started to appear when she was studying in the seventh year of primary school when she was 14 years old.
He said, “When I reached the seventh year of primary school, I was a teenager. At first, there were three beards, but I didn’t recognize them. I was sitting in class listening to the students telling me that Monika was gray and now she has a beard.”
He added: “Every year these problems increase, I finished the seventh grade but I was late for the eighth grade because I took the state exam three times and failed. My mother took me to a school that was postponed to the Hammer in APEFOC”.
The woman says that in seconds she faced serious problems because her beard had already grown, everywhere she passed they said there was a girl with a beard.
He said, “Think everywhere I go they say here’s a girl with a beard, some say you won’t find a man, I get scared and feel like I’m going to fall down but I’m patient, my mother (Mama) keeps me going, but you also see that it’s a problem for her.
Mukandutiye said that he continued to face problems, “There were those who passed by and insulted me very much saying that there is a girl with a beard. My mother continued to comfort me. She has been reading almost since my teenage years. That’s when she thought about it and went to ask the doctors. They told her that it was something else in the blood. these are called hormones”.
He says that even though he had that problem, the guys were not afraid to tease him, that some told him that they love him until he marries the one they were with, now that he started teasing him as his beard grew.
He studied law and administration in high school but became a teacher. but they came to lay off those who do not have a diploma in education, that’s when I went to work for myself, I am an entrepreneur in agriculture”.
The mother says that shaving the beard is a way to prevent it from continuing to grow and spread all over the face, and the embarrassment will increase and he will have a heavier problem than what he has now, He says that until now he is living insecure, because of the harassment that is being done to him by some of his bearded residents.
He said, “Until now in my life, I am not alone, everywhere I go I feel like a prey, my heart hurts, even when I go through a place where they run after me, my husband has never ignored me. ‘You are discouraged’.
He said again, “I am upset with those who continue to ostracize me, where they say that we will arrest you and hang you to see if you are a woman or a man, and I tell them that I am a woman, I have given birth, I have five children, you know”.
