Women's Day 2023: Acid Attack Survivors Who Overcame Their Disability

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The atrocities on women are an appalling development in modern India. Women are being targeted by known and the unknown people to just wreck vengeance for their own nefarious ends. Despite this, many acid attack victims have survived and living a normal life holding their head high, facing the challenges headon and proving that they can live without an emotional support. Let us study few examples of acid attack, who have overcome their pain and grown into strong pillars of support for other victims in society.

1. Laxmi Agarwal

The film Chhapaak starring The Deepika Padukone explains the blood curdling story of Laxmi Agarwal, the acid attack victim, who has overcome the crippling challenge and living a normal life like any other. Laxmi was attacked after refusing a marriage proposal from a family friend and this is how it happened. As she was walking on the pavement, she heard a familiar voice call out to her, and the moment she looked back, to realize that the attacker was the same man who had proposed to her, she had acid thrown to her face and the culprits vanished in the next fraction of a second.

She was barely 15 years of age, when this ghastly incident occured. Unfortunately, she had to go through the entire spectrum of pain at an age where she had barely opened her eyes to the world. She is now out to prohibit the sale of acid in the shops where it is sold rampantly. She is supported by thousands of acid attack survivors to help her succeed in the campaign. She never let this situation be her drawback and achieved success in personal and professional front. A guiding light for such victims, she did not allow her pain to decide the shape of her future.

2. Pragya Singh

Pragya Singh was a victim of a really tragic circumstance. Few days after her wedding, the 23-year-old Pragya was travelling alone in a train from Varanasi to Delhi to just seek her fortune in the fashion designing world in the year 2006. At 2 am, as she was fast asleep, she suddenly felt a burning pain all over her face, and woke up with a disfigured face before she could even realize it. The unfortunate incident had happened. The man whom she had refused to marry, had thrown acid on her face upon vengeance. Hearing her screams and sobs, a doctor travelling in the same train attended to her.

When she reached the destination, she was immediately rushed to a super specialty hospital where she was given extensive treatment. At this time, they realized that the criminal who had attacked her was still following her with two acid bottles in his hand. He had burnt his hands himself as a little acid had poured over his fingers in his previous attempt on her. Based on this evidence, he was caught, and sentenced to jail for 4 years as a result of a legal fight of 10 years.

Now She had to undergo around 15 surgeries to set things right and also lost vision in one eye. At this testing time of her life, it was her husband who gave her his unconditional support and revived her confidence and helped her step back to normal life. She realized that her life had not ended as she had thought. After 7 years, her husband and his friends helped her by raising 30000 INR to start an NGO called Atijeevan where free surgeries and noninvasive treatments for burn and acid attack victims are provided. The victims are also provided post-operative counselling and vocational skill development workshops to help them continue with their lives. She has two daughters as well.

3. Anmol Rodriguez

Anmol was barely two months old who was still in breastfeeding stages. Once during one breastfeeding sessions, her father doused both of them in a can of acid with an intention to murder both. Her mother succumbed to death immediately, but Anmol miraculously escaped. She was shifted and operated multiple times in several hospitals and was finally admitted to an orphanage center where she grew up. She had scars all over her body, and found it traumatic to attend college due to this. Later she realized that she had to outgrow the situation, and grow bigger than it so that she can handle the permanent repercussions of the acid attack. She learnt to singlehandedly manage to heal her emotional scars as well. .

She had a penchant for fashion designing and soon decided to pursue modelling. Today, she stands with head held high as a social media influencer and model with thousands of followers on Instagram. She has worked for several brands and fashion shows. A short film starring her and Shabana Azmi even got her an award for best performance in the female category in 2018. She is also helping acid attack victims by helping them with job offers.

4. Daulat Bi Khan

Originally based in Mumbai, Daulat encountered acid attack from an unexpected source at the age of 26. It was none other than her elder sister and brother in law who maimed her beyond recognition by throwing acid on her. After undergoing reconstruction surgeries to restore her facial features, one by one, she was socially ostracized for changing her appearance. This was when anyone in her place would have given up on life and hopes but at this point in time, she decided that she will never be bogged down by circumstances. She founded an NGO called Sahas Foundation in 2016, where survivors are helped in multifarious ways which, apart from medical care, provides legal assistance to the oppressed, Employment opportunities are also provided to these victims.