Thanaka Lady

Her face is fully covered, in artistic brush strokes, with the natural cream called . Believed to enhance cosmetic beauty and provide protection from sunburn, women and girls in Myanmar routinely apply the natural cream on their faces, sometimes even on their arms and legs (see previous post). But this lady has all the reasons to fully cover her face with thanaka: her job involves something that most Asian women would not even consider doing - road construction and maintenance. In a country where sunny days burn to temperatures up to 36 °C; she has reason to protect herself from the blazing heat on Myanmar's roads. After all, she's still a woman.