New Delhi: The world stood up in admiration on September 9 when a 19 year old acid-attack survivor walked the ramp for renowned Indian designer Archana Kochchar at New York Fashion Week.
Reshma Bano Qureshi was walking the ramp for the first time and she knew it would change her life. She asked people to refrain from showing sympathy to her. “I want to tell the world – do not see us in a weak light and see that even we can go out and do things,” she was quoted saying,
Reshma wore a stunning white gown by the designer with her hair tied up in a chignon. Professional make-up artists helped her with her make-up. She also wore a beautiful silver head piece.
Kochchar sounded extremely proud to have chosen Qureshi for the ramp walk. In a news release, she said, “I believe beauty is not external, but rather what comes from within.”
Reshma is also a beauty vlogger and makes beauty videos on the YouTube channel, Make Love Not Scars. She was invited, by FTL Moda, a producer of NYFW to be a part of the show. They wanted to boost her campaign against acid sales in India and to focus less on traditional forms of beauty.
Reshma is the youngest daughter of a taxi driver from Mumbai. She loves watching Katrina Kaif films, dressing up and taking selfies.
Her world turned upside down in May 2014 when she was attacked by her brother-in-law, who disfigured her face with acid.
Her brother-in-law mistook her for his wife (Reshma’s elder sister) and doused her face with acid as both were wearing a burqa.
The incident took place at the railway station in her hometown, Mau Aima, 36 km away from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. She had gone there to give her 10th grade exams. Just weeks before the attack, Reshma got a haircut and bought make-up for the first time in her life, for a family wedding.
The attack damaged her face for good and she also lost an eye. Reshma went into depression after she saw her face in the mirror for the first time, a few weeks after the attack. She cut herself off from the world and even contemplated suicide.
A meeting with Ria Sharma, founder of NGO Make Love Not Scars, transformed Reshma’s life. Ria talked her out of depression, and started a crowd-funding campaign to help Reshma meet hospital and legal expenditure. Ria built a strong emotional bond with Reshma. She helped her regain her courage and fight for justice. It was then that Reshma stopped covering her face in public.
Reshma made her modelling debut in the online campaign #EndAcidSale, which became a big hit. In the one-of-its-kind beauty tutorial, Reshma talked about how it takes two minutes to put on blush, but just 3 seconds to scar a face forever. She also talks about how finding the right shade of lipstick is harder than buying concentrated acid in the market.
The posters and videos of the campaign won a Glass Lion and two Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2016, France.
Russel Powell, a California-based artist famous for his hand-stamped artwork, made a black-and-white painting of Reshma. She was touched to see this one-of-a-kind artwork, and broke into tears.
Reshma now works with acid-attack survivors to help them start afresh and lead a normal life. Her dream is to finish her high school and then join a college for higher education.
Acid attacks are reported from South Asian Middle Eastern countries.
According to the Australian news outlet ABC, about 500-1,000 acid attacks happen in India every year. These attacks are majorly made if a girl rejects someone’s romantic proposals or her acts are against the social norms.
While there have not been major deaths reported in these attacks, the lifelong wounds leave both physical and psychological scars on the victims. People like Qureshi have been fighting against the sale of these dangerous chemicals which are so easily accessible by anyone for dirt cheap prices.
Although the Supreme Court of India had in 2013 ordered to stop acid sale, some forms acid are still available in the market.
Acid attacks are life changing events and no less than a murder. The way it impacts the victim’s life is beyond imagination.
It may not be possible to change the mind-sets of people such as Ankur Panwar, but people can press the government to ban the sales of these acids. Kindly sign the petition here, which is a part of #EndAcidSale campaign by Make Love Not Scars – the organisation Reshma is associated with.