Yes. They stare in your eyes with their burnt faces and mangled skin, their half-opened eyes and botched body parts which might make you cringe at the first sight, but remember, they have borne in their wombs dark stories originating from the scariest moments of their lives. Yes, they apply a few coatings of make-up to accentuate their features, to laugh away their sorrows as we all do. However, don’t forget the fact that they were beautiful, bubbly, chirpy girls once. Their womanhood was their pride, their badge of honour even moments before the perpetrators of heinous crimes threw acid on their faces, carrying the venom in unsuspecting containers, mostly in broad daylight, to avenge on these seemingly delightful countenances.
Acid attack survivors in the media and public eye, in Sheroes café, Agra
Lakshmi Agarwal, the prime campaigner for the rights of acid attack victims whom you have often seen in the media and remembered for her defiant spirit, especially after her onscreen portrayal (represented by Deepika Padukone) in the Indian movie ‘Chhapak’. Nasreen Jahan, the woman with iron determination who rose from the suffering and trauma of her half-burnt face, scalded neck and shoulders and emerged as a beacon of hope, empowering many victims through the TV series ‘Roadies’. Ritu Saini, Chanchal Kumari, Madhu Kashyap, some other names to reckon with. Their extraordinary stories of courage and grit evoke wonder and awe as they serve coffee and snacks and their life stories to the customers at Sheroes café in Agra, India, just half a mile away from Taj Mahal, the architectural wonder of the nation.
Frustrated psychopath husbands, jilted lovers, bosses, men whose advances they spurned—the culprits have come in various forms. Sometimes, they also have had woman accomplices. They have undergone several reconstructive surgeries and excruciatingly painful ordeals. Though some of them have fortunately received legal and medical assistance, thanks to various human rights groups and non-profit organizations, many have succumbed to death after the onslaught. The ones living with mutilated faces have carried on amid the stigma and societal labels hurled on them. Many of them prefer to cover their faces with scarves, and yet, many others come out uncovered, unapologetic, and recount their stories to the customers of Sheroes Café, tourists from all parts of the world, including Europe, America and other nations.
Together, these uninhibited women say: “We are not victims, we are survivors.”
Acid Attack: Some harsh truths:
The National Crime Records Bureau documents more than 1000 cases of acid attack on women in India every year. According to Jaf Shah, executive director of the London-based nonprofit Acid Survivors Trust International, there are approximately 10,000 attacks worldwide every year, with numbers dramatically increasing in recent years in the U.K., where acid is used as a weapon in gang violence.
Among the various kinds of violence inflicted on women, acid attack is one of the deadliest, severely burning flesh in a matter of 30 seconds, melting the skin, destroying eyelids, ears and noses, and other vital organs that have been exposed to the vitriolic substance. The psychology behind such attacks, Shah says, is to silence women by using extreme levels of violence, so that they remain stigmatized and banished behind closed curtains.
“It should be our continued effort to create awareness about the pain and suffering it causes to the victims…to rehabilitate them as self-dependent individuals.” Says Dr Shilpi Bhadhani, renowned plastic and aesthetic surgeon from India.
Apart from exhaustive treatment and therapies with an extended hospital stay, which often includes cosmetic surgeries, scar corrections, salvaging the eyes and vision of the victims, doctors like Bhandhani have also emphasized on psychological support, psychiatric interventions and counselling for them. But keeping in mind that many of these women belong to the lower socio-economic strata of society, how much of that would be possible on a larger scale in our Indian society? Also, keeping in mind that in India, acid is widely available in the stores as a cleaning agent, the law enforcement regarding acid regulation (passed in 2013) has been rendered quite ineffective till now. According to the Indian law, the attackers, once prosecuted, face a minimum of 10 years jail time. But the harsh reality that most of the culprits do not get caught or punished and also that the cases take years to go to trial leaves a dent in our judicial system.
The menace of Acid Attack, projected in Meghna Gulzar’s recent film ‘Chhapak’:
The riveting tale of Lakshmi Agrawal’s triumph against the menace of acid attack, poignantly adapted into the film ‘Chhapak’ by Meghna Gulzar (released in December 2019) directs us into the psyche of an acid attack survivor. In the course of the narrative, the film also poses integral questions regarding the laws and regulations of acid sale in India. While the protagonist in the film, Malti Aggarwal along with her foundation collects funds for treatment and legal action for the other victims and finally manages to send the criminals to jail, there are other attacks with an alarming frequency which proves that acid is still indiscriminately bought, sold and exploited in India.
Don’t forget, it can be your sister, your friend, your wife, your daughter, your niece, the docile girl-next-door, or any girl or woman in your community that can be the victim. Our collective voices to raise awareness, and to emphasize strong legal enforcement are highly sought in this grave crisis.
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They are strong, beautiful women who did not let that outer pricking of the epidermis seep into their spirit.
Some battles are fought with armor. Rather than succumb to continual ‘morte’ (which they had done nothing to provoke), they chose to rise above the attack and live.
We have much to learn from their spirit. They have much to teach us.