News Desk
In the bustling city of Dubai, where diverse cultures intersect, lives Shumaila William a Christian Pakistani expat who possess a unique feature that set her apart — heterochromia, a condition that bestowed upon her eyes two different colors, one a deep brown and the other a striking shade of green.
Shumaila Jacquiline William confirms that her left eye is green and her right is brown, noting that people always notice her two different eye colors.
People staring at me and even asking me if I wear different colored lenses in each eye has become so commonplace to me. Shumaila replies, “But I just smile and tell them that my eyes are two different colors and have been this way since I was born.”
“It makes me very happy that they compliment me and say I have beautiful eyes, aside from their curiosity,” she admits.
A single woman who works at a private school, Shumaila has been living in Dubai for 12 years. Many Pakistanis seek employment opportunities and a better standard of living in the cosmopolitan city of Dubai, known for its economic growth and diverse expatriate community.
However many Christians leave Pakistan citing increasing persecution and threats. Christian religious and political leaders say that thousands have applied for asylum or refugee status in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and other countries in recent years.
But Shumaila deals with a different condition; namely the Heterochromia.
“I have been identified with genetic complete Heterochormia, where each eye is entirely a different colour; in some other rare cases, the Heterochormia is partial or sectoral, where one eye contains two different colours within it,” Shumaila explains.
According to doctors, Heterochromia occurs as a result of variations in the distribution, concentration and type of melanin in the iris. Despite its mystical manifestation, it is largely congenital with no symptoms. In some cases, when it develops in later life, it is acquired and can be associated with other issues.
Shumaila says she cherishes her individuality and the attention that her unique eyes command. “I can only thank my parents for this,” she says.
Estimated to occur in one per cent of the world population, Heterochromia is indeed uncommon. But despite its rarity, some celebrities with two-coloured eyes have helped draw attention to the condition.
Among the celebs with dual-coloured eyes are Hollywood actress Kate Bosworth (hazel and green); Bond girl Jane Seymour (blue and green); Star Trek’s Alice Eve (blue and green); and Dominic Sherwood (half blue, half brown).
“Many people I meet tell me that I should also get into modelling or acting because of my unique eyes. I feel I am not cut out for that,” says Shumaila.
But does she sees things differently with each eye because of their different colour?
“Not really, except when I look at myself in the mirror,” she adds.