Every person in this big world thinks that his problems weighs more than that of another. I came across a story of an acid attack survivor. She’s made a big name now and the courage that she possesses is remarkable. In 2005, a year of distress, when Laxmi was attacked by a man who wanted to marry her. The man had approached her for quite a long time even after when she turned down his proposal. The enraged man couldn’t accept the reality and tried to turn the woman’s life a hard reality. When this incident took place, Laxmi shares her story out to the world. She speaks of how she lost consciousness for a while and how she felt that her face was burning. She describes it the way a plastic polythene burns. The most appaling part was when she hugged her father, his shirt started to burn. This describes that how low quality and strong that acid was.
Subsequently, her operations started to take place and her eyes got stitched when she was all conscious. One cannot even dare to imagine the plight she must have gone through. Well, the people surrounding herself weren’t too helpful either. Relatives and friends came and turned their backs on her after a few months of the act. The neighbours were way to suggestive, saying that the accused shouldn’t have chosen her face as a target, he could’ve chosen any other part of the body. They were of the opinion that the beauty quotient has gone contributing to marriage being a skeptical aspect. I would also use my suggestive aspect and advice people that humans should engange in keeping their mouths shut if they don’t know what to say. Victims are already victims due to a reason, one shouldn’t victimise them more by reminding them of their state and by adding to it.
But this account is not of any other victim. This story tells about how people survive after being attacked at every part of their body. The emotional and physical trauma is beyond words and one cannot even dare to concise it in the form of writing.
A certain number of laws have been passed denying the sale of acid to unauthorised users but unfortunately, it’s execution is still a big question.
Another incident told by her accounts of how even call centres denied her to give a job because they said if other people saw her, they would get frightened due to a disfigured face like hers.
It’s just so saddening that people can’t control their emotions or their anger which drives them to lose their identity in order to commit such a brutish act. One who commits such a henious crime does not do it to kill a person right away. He does it to torture the other person for the rest of his life in misery.
Well, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Laxmi turned her tale into a strong rebellion. She started a campaign called ‘Sheroes Hangout’ in 2014. A couple of other survivors who had a similar story joined her. They now stand tall and high, getting all the respect they deserve. Laxmi says that the accused attempted to ruin her life, rather she turned her life around. She says that she didn’t let her weakness take over her, instead she made it her strong point and went ahead with it. Beauty cannot be defined from one’s face because it’s just the way it is and it will fade away one day or the other. But, a mind can be improved every moment of the day and that’s what makes one beautiful for a lifetime. The horrific woes of this amazing lady tells us that people leave no stone unturned to bring you down, but one ought to keep one’s soundness intact.