Acid attacks on women
happen all over the world. They are brutal in a peculiar sense
because the attacker aims not to kill the victim but to disfigure her and kill
her soul. Attackers indulge in this frightful crime and force the victim to live
a life of suffering if she survives. In
our country, the cases stand out despite the existence of laws and directives
to prevent the horrific crime. Even cases
involving throwing acid have been on the rise. And here attacks follow a
pattern.In an analysis of cases,
it has been found that 35% of the incidents cited rejection of marriage or
refusal by women.Acid attacks not only physically hurt victims but bring
a social isolation that compounds the trauma. However, in this year 2016,
I came to read many of the acid attack survivor’s stories which are so powerful
and inspiring.
I never heard or had seen how those women face the
challenges of their further life which are full of hatred and criticism. But in
this year 2016, I found many such women who are crossing barriers and proving themselves
no different than a normal woman. They are even setting themselves as role
models for others to follow and adore. Today I very well know activist Laxmi who
works for the welfare of acid attack victims. At the age of 15 years, a
32-year-old man came up to Laxmi on the street and threw acid on her face for
rejecting his offer of marriage. Rather than let it defeat her, Laxmi became an
influence peddler inspiring other women
who underwent a similar ordeal. Laxmi received a 2014 International Women of Courage award by US First Lady Michelle
Obama. In January this year, I read about the campaign ‘Face of
Courage’ by fashion Brand Viva N Diva. They signed on Laxmi to be the new face
for their designer outfits. Then another example came. Reshma Qureshi,
an acid attack survivor, walked the ramp at the New York Fashion Week in
September this year. Reshma's life changed drastically in 2014 when, during a
visit to her hometown in Uttar Pradesh, her brother-in-law,
and his friends threw acid on her face. Reshma's brother-in-law mistook her for
her elder sister since both of them were
wearing burqas, and that's how the attack took place. Reshma went into
depression after this. However,
things started taking a turn for the better when Reshma met Ria Sharma, the
founder of Make Love Not Scars, an NGO that started the #EndAcidSale movement
in India. Reshma became the ambassador
of this #EndAcidSale campaign.
There are many photo shoots happening in our country featuring the acid attack victims. Instead of
taking professional models professional photographers are taking these
beautiful girls as models because they actually define beauty, courage,
positivity. So I feel in this year 2016, more and more acid attack
survivors came forwards and inspired the world
with their fighting spirit and positivity. When these girls say that “their
face mirror society”, I feel so pain and so anger. Pain for those victims who, despite going through plenty of operations and
surgeries, are still struggling to get their charm back. And anger for those losers who get mad and throw acid only because
they are rejected by a woman. Why these accidents happen, why acid is openly
available and why anyone has the courage
to attempt such a brutal crime are only some of the questions that can be
debated for long. But I love that in this year 2016 many of the acid attack
survivors gave thumbs down to the people who hate them and abhor them.
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