Harshita Jaiswal
India Post News Service
NEW DELHI: Fifteen- year old Roopa was attacked with acid by her stepmother near Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh in 2008. The acid not only burned her skin but also her dreams and ambitions. Her own family, relatives and society blamed her for the mishap and taunted her for her miseries. Her life was a wreck and she contemplated suicide. Her Chacha (uncle) came to her rescue, bore all her treatment expenses and raised her as a strong and independent woman.
Today at 25, she works as an assistant manager at the Sheroes (short for she heroes) Hangout, a cafe run by acid attack survivors, and she also owns a boutique. In 2017, Roopa was honored with the ‘Nari Shakti’ award by President Pranab Mukherjee, highlighting the cause of acid attack victims not only in UP, but all over India.
Roopa has been lucky to have not only survived but also made a mark in life. There are many other acid attack victims in India who are living a miserable life. According to the survivors, not accepting a love proposal and resisting a street assault are few of the most common reasons behind such horrendous attacks.
The Sheroes Hangout cafe was started by Alok Dixit in Agra in 2014. Only in a few short years it has managed to become a popular spot in the city. The cafe is now also running in Lucknow and Udaipur.
Alok Dixit told India Post, “Whenever an acid attack victim comes to us for help, all her problems are ours. We give her an environment to restart her life. We empower her and give her the required ambience to grow and lead a fulfilling life once again” said Alok, a journalist turned social activist who is also the founder member of ‘Stop Acid Attack’ campaign. Alok lives with an acid attack survivor turned activist and TV anchor, Laxmi Agarwal, who is also the winner of 2014 Women of Courage award.
“My chacha was the only one who has helped me throughout my painful journey” Roopa told India Post. Her uncle bore all her treatment expenses and raised her as strong and independent women. “I had to cover my face at all times. I stopped going to family gatherings and marriages. People used to point fingers at me and considered me bad omen” she added.
Victims of acid attacks in India, mostly women, are isolated from their families and society at large; they become complete pariahs in their own surroundings, where they grew up. Once their faces are disfigured after the attack, acceptability is beyond question and many are forced into an existence as the living dead.
Roopa met Alok Dixit in 2013 during the Stop Acid Attack campaign and her life took a new turn. “I used to think myself as the only unfortunate one who has been scarred but after joining this campaign I met several other girls who were victims of this dreadful menace. Meeting them gave me the hope to live again, dream again” she said.
Since childhood, Roopa wanted to be a designer and with the new found confidence, she started to learn stitching and sewing. Her new friends supported her ambition and encouraged her in her path of self discovery. Today she has designed several clothes and undergone professional photoshoot. She has named her label “Roopa Creations” which instantly became popular. Along with working in the Sheroes cafe, she runs her boutique near Taj Mahal in Agra.
Tourists who come to visit Agra usually come to the Sheroes Hangout Cafe and they love the hospitality there. “We have struggled a lot to keep the cafe running. Earlier, people used to avoid coming to our cafe. They made faces and said bad things about our looks. Things have changed now. Tourists come to eat and meet us especially. Social media has helped us a lot to sensitize about acid attack fighters” Roopa said.
“I really liked the concept and their gestures. I loved the food and their library. It is huge. They didn’t ask us for money. The customers can pay whatever they like and there’s no fixed bill as such”, said Ankur Jain, a businessman from Gwalior city. “I recommend everyone to visit the place once. They are doing a tremendous job,” he added.
“I want to get married some day. I don’t want to spend my life alone. I have heard my relatives saying, ‘who will get married to a face like that’, so if I don’t get married, they will never stop chanting the same tune,” said when asked about her plans.
The cafe makes a good amount of profit but it also runs on crowd funding from time to time. The campaign has helped to bring the acid attack victims together so that they could support one another and earn a livelihood. The cafe is visited by celebrities like Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, actors John Abraham, Kalki Koechlin, Sanjay Dutt etc.
“The cafe provides the victims with business exposure which gives them the unique opportunity to explore their strengths. They get business acumen, to practice their skills and test them against the strong forces of the free market and the fickle human will”, said Alok when asked about how he helps the acid attack survivors to become self-reliant.
The survivors in the cafe do not seek revenge. They were attacked for no fault of their own. What is worse is that most of the attackers have not been brought to 
justice.
Uttar Pradesh ranks highest in terms of acid attacks. After so many efforts by people like Alok, the UP government has provided free treatment to several acid attack survivors. But a majority of acid attack victims across India have either not been given their promised compensation or haven’t even been offered anything.
The war against open sale of acid by the campaign team #StopAcidAttacks continues. Sadly, the Indian judiciary has failed to punish a majority of the culprits in acid attack crimes.
