By Lipi Mehta:
This is Reshma Qureshi, a 19-year-old who works at the NGO ‘Make Love Not Scars’, that works with acid attack survivors in India.
On May 19, 2014, Reshma’s brother in-law and his friends attacked her with acid. She lost an eye as a result and since then, she has been campaigning against the sale of acid and speaking up for justice for acid attack survivors.
On September 9, 2016, Reshma walked the ramp for designer Archana Kochhar on the opening day of New York Fashion Week. This was a defining moment – to strengthen the global conversation against acid attacks and smash stereotypical notions of ‘beauty’.
Mail Today, ‘Delhi’s only tabloid newspaper’ chose to write about Reshma at NY Fashion Week with this headline.
At first glance, one might even miss the glaring problem with this, as we are used to the media telling us about celebrities ‘scorching’ the ramp all the time.
But here’s the thing. Perhaps Mail Today forgot what ‘scorches’ really means.
And to put things in even more context now…
Was this a wordplay attempt (in which case, WTF) or was this just sheer carelessness? Either way, it trivialises the horror that acid attack survivors go through in a big way. Hope Mail Today realises why this is so not okay.
As for us, we need to join Reshma’s fight against acid attacks – in thousands!
How 18-Year-Old Reshma, An Acid Attack Survivor Is Challenging The Idea of ‘Beauty’
Reshma Quereshi, a young student of a local municipality school in Mumbai, was allegedly attacked by her brother-in-law on 19th May 2014 when she went to visit her sister in Allahabad. A frightening tactic used to intimidate or ‘punish’ a girl who may have stood up against unwarranted advances by a man, an acid attack involves tossing a bottle full of highly corrosive acid on her face.
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