One of Nigeria's hairiest women, Queen Okafor, tells her story

26 year old Queen Okafor is one of the hairiest women in Nigeria. In an interview with Sunday Sun the Anambra state born lady said she was born without much hair on her body, but gradually began sprouting them five years ago, at age 21.

In this Sun interview, Queen talks about the challenges of living with such unique features and how she's dealt with it all these years. Find her sad and heartwarming story below...
“My name is Queen Nonyerem Okafor. I am from Anambra State. We are five children from our parents, three girls and two boys. I inherited the hairs from my mum and it runs in the family. Once you get to 21 to 23 years  in our family, you start experiencing hair growth. I am 26 years old now, when I was in secondary school, much hairs were not on my body. It started when I finished my secondary school. I am not granting you this interview as if I need help or money, no! I want to tell my story and what it means to be a hairy woman. All I need is for an NGO to take up my case as a woman with abnormal conditions and also to act in the movie industry.” Continue...

The first time it started to grow on my body, I was ashamed, but someone advised me that I shouldn’t bother, that it is a blessing not a curse. The person told me that I am unique, besides, wherever I go, I would be recognised. She advised me that I shouldn’t be ashamed, rather that I should be proud of myself. It was her that gave me strength and boosted my self esteem. Some people think that I am a man. Some think I fixed my breast to deceive people. Men especially find it difficult to believe that I am a woman. It was when we interact that most men are reassured that I am a woman. It has made me to be very popular and recognised in public. It has boosted my confidence to socialize. People want to identify with me to know the stuff I am made of. Some want to find out where this girl is coming from. People call and dash me money because of my hairy nature, but I don’t beg for money.”

“Before the advice came, I was asking God why all these now? I was thinking of what to rub to clear the hair from my skin. I rubbed tortoise faeces and a lot of things people recommend for me to use, but it didn’t remove them, rather it caused more harm than good as I started growing bumps and sores while the hair was still coming out. So, I stopped rubbing those things. I suffered those lumps trying to stop the growth,” she narrated.