A moustache is as associated with the image of a man as the dupatta is for Pakistani women. Men take pride in keeping facial hair that are imposing and, well, in-your-face. Now, here’s a reason why doing this could be turned into a good cause.

Movember

Yes, that’s not a typo. Movember is actually a thing. Basically, it is an amalgamation of the words “moustache” and “November”. And it is to commemorate men all around the world letting their facial hair grow for the whole month of November in support of awareness regarding men’s health related issues.

Why in November?

The idea to have this month of November as a marker for this event stems from October being celebrated as the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The fact that every year in October breast cancer-related charities raise millions of dollars for research to fight against this disease got some men in Australia thinking that the same could be done for cancers that relate to men, like prostate cancer or colon cancer.

Today, this activity has gone global and men all over the world grow their facial hair, beards or just their moustaches. The trending hipster look also help make facial hair more acceptable. And so does the information that 1 in every 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their life.

Also, men are generally more reckless with keeping up with their health. Historically, a man, is supposed to be macho and strong, never show a hint of weakness, therefore the idea that a man could go to a doctor for preventative checkups makes many guys uncomfortable. This behavior has led to very high figures of men dying of illnesses such as prostate cancer.

Cancer Shmancer

In fact, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men above the age of 50. For those men in the age bracket of 20 to 40 years old, colon cancer is the most common form of cancer.

The only way to keep this evil disease away is to get checkups. You can perform self-exams which, for reasons of not damaging people’s imaginations, we will let you google on your own. You may also get checkups from a medically trained professional. This method is obviously more recommended, but frequent checkups can be expensive, cumbersome and impractical hence the suggestion for self-examination.

So where does Movember figure in this scenario?

The idea about letting your facial hair grow in November is that by doing so you are embracing the hair that many cancer patients lose in their battle against it, to raise awareness among others about men’s health issues. While various charities and organizations have their own rules about it (there is even a difference between the challenges of “Movember” and “No Shave November”), the concept behind all of their activities is the same.

By banding together, donating as much as you can and raising awareness you will be able to keep your own self and your loved ones from becoming a victim of this dangerous disease.

Yes, you may feel it’s all fun and games but ask someone who has gone through it or has lost a loved one to cancer. It is an important problem, one that needs to be addressed because every year the number of people getting affected by the various forms of cancer keeps on increasing. And it is better to tackle it with a smile on your face and determination on your mind.

So let’s chuck those razors of yours and let your ghani zulfien flow wildly all through this month.

Celebrate Movember, celebrate men’s health.

P.S: MangoBaaz did a Snapchat story to help raise awareness about this cause and the men of MangoBaaz are partaking in the challenge by throwing away our Gillettes.

We invite you to follow us on Snapchat and join us in our Movember mission.

Cover image via: huffingtonpost.com