Rashmi Rekha Das, OP
Tribal girl Rebati’s life is hell because of her hirsute body and gross neglect of the state government to help her while Hira, facing a similar problem, had a new lease of life thanks to help from a few Samaritans
Hair is an integral part of a woman’s personality. A woman can transform her persona and look completely bold and edgy if she wants to, with just a change in her haircut. Hair plays a huge role in improving the self-image of women. But what about unwanted or excessive hair? Sunday POST finds out how two brave girls dealt with this ticklish problem.
Hiramani
Born with a rare genetic disorder that causes excess hair growth, Hiramani Hembram is one of the most popular girls at her school now. The class VII topper is no shrinking violet: She likes to sing, dance and act. Her teachers describe her as ‘very lively.’ But things were not always like this. Earlier, her classmates used to tease her so much about her excessive facial hair that she was forced to abandon studies. She resigned herself to live a lonely life.
Hira was teaching her younger siblings when Sunday POST visited her. She recollected the difficult days in school. “My classmates and other students used to tease me a lot at school. They used to call me ‘bhalu’ (bear) due to the excessive growth of hair on my face. The teasing was so unbearable that I had to quit my studies. However, some good Samaritans came to my rescue and I got a new lease of life following plastic surgery.”
In a world where people can be cruel to those who look different, Hira has big plans to help others by becoming a doctor. “I want to be a doctor so that I can help sick and injured people,” she said.
Khechada Hembram, Hiramani’s father, recounted his daughter’s story. “I am a daily wage labourer with a seven-member family to support. Hira started losing her confidence after she found unusual hair growth all over her body. At first, she was teased at school, and other kids were scared to look at her. She had a hard time and stopped going school. Though I approached many VIPs for help, no one paid heed. Finally, a journalist came to our rescue. He assured help for Hira’s surgery. He contacted members of a voluntary organisation ‘Missing Foundation,’ who came to our place to take stock of the situation. They later held a press conference inviting common people to donate funds for Hira. At the press meet, only a meagre amount of Rs 1,000 was collected. Then the members of the voluntary organisation decided to bear Hira’s medical expenses.
They took Hira to SCB Medical College and Hospital where she underwent plastic surgery. The doctors did a re-plantation surgery on her removing the dark patches on her face by planting a skin from her thigh. Only because of their help she resumed her studies and regained her self-confidence. We want people to know that she’s a normal little girl.”
Hira’s mother Jamuna Hembram said, “Being a girl, life was tough for her because of her hairy face. Apart from her studies, I was more worried about her marriage. She was reluctant to go to school and became depressed, preferring to remain indoors always. I am grateful to Prabin Gupta, coordinator of ‘Missing Foundation,’ which bore Hira’s medical expenses to give her a new life. She was operated on May 22, 2011 and in a few days she was fine. My daughter is normal now. She does not feel scared at all and gives her best in everything.”
Hira’s story does not end here.She has excessive hair growth in other parts of the body. “It was decided that further surgery would be done some time later but that did not happen. The state government should bear the medical expenses so that she can live life like other girls with confidence,” said Khechada, a native of Mayurbhaj district.
Khechada is a proud father. “Hira is a ‘hira’ (diamond) in the true sense. Be it study or household work, she gives her best in everything. Being a daily wage earner, it is really difficult for me to arrange tuition for her. She still tops in class and teaches her siblings. She is a truly an inspiration for girls who are suffering from problems like this”, said her father.
Rebati
Twenty eight year old tribal girl Rebati Kanhar from Boudh district hit the headlines in 2008. She suffered from swelling of the gums giving her an ape-like look and abnormal growth of hair on the body and face. In medical terms, her case was a rarest of rare deformity known as Idiopathic Gingival Enlargement (swelling of the gums) with hypertrichosis (abnormal growth of hair). When Sunday POST reached her village, we were taken aback to see Rebati’s condition. Her father Balakrushna, who used to weave bamboo baskets to sustain the family, died and ten days later, her mother Umadevi passed away in July 2017. Following the death of her parents, Rebati is leading a lonely life.
Sunday POST also came to know that her father, Balakrushna, suffered from a milder form of gingival enlargement while her brother, who died a few years back, suffered from the same condition as Rebati.
According to sources, the SCB Medical College and Hospital administration took up the challenge to treat Rebati and decided to bear all the expenses for her treatment after she caught the attention of the media in 2008. A series of surgeries was performed on her and research was conducted under the guidance of the Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with the Institute of Immunology in Mumbai. Doctors conducted a genetic analysis to find out the sequences that have given the girl her ape-like facial features.
Doctors have assured her family members that Rebati would be completely cured of the genetic disorder after undergoing a few more surgeries. She will have normal features like other girls and the hair growth can be inhibited with normal laser application procedure. Rebati still has to undergo a few more surgeries. But her situation has come back to square one. She got hair all over her body after the state government stopped providing medicines to her. She has been deprived of government aid for the last five years.
That’s not all. In a meeting held in the month of September 2017, the speaker Pradip Kumar Amat and Collector Madhusudan Mishra had assured all help to Rebati and said the government would provide her a house under Harischandra Yojana.
“Although the government had announced aid for rehabilitation, help has not reached me yet. In the absence of government support, I work as a daily wager. I tend goats belonging to villagers to get a handful of rice,” she says.
Reluctant to comment any further, she said, “I am leading a life of penury. I can lead a quality life if I get proper government support.”
