Lucknow: Mother of five girls, Reshma was pregnant with her son when her husband blazed her private organs with acid in July 2013 in Lucknow. Reticent after the incident that burnt down her will to survive, Reshma has come out of her den almost three years later to pursue her hobby of cooking. As a part of 'Sheroes Hangout', the first-of-its-kind initiative that came to Lucknow on Monday, Reshma is going to be in charge of the kitchen of the cafe run entirely by acid attack
survivors
.
"About 10 days ago, I went for my Sheroes training in Agra and now I am confident to take care of the kitchen," said Reshma, who will be making veg kebabs, biryani, parathas and rotis.
Wearing a white t-shirt that reads 'Stop Acid Attacks' and a pair of dark glasses to protect her eyes from the sun, Farah says her experience at Sheroes in Agra changed her life.
"I used to cover each inch of my face be it day or night when I had to go out; that has completely changed now!" she said. Farah belongs to Qaimganj and has lost vision in one eye after the attack on her by her adulterous husband.
Three more survivors of the barbarian act-Sunita from Unnao, Ritu from Haryana and Aruna from Tanda-will manage the outlet.
"My own cousin did this to me (for ignoring his persuasion) . He gave Rs 1.25 lakh to someone for throwing acid on me. But that hasn't stopped me and I move on with courage," she said.
For Aruna, the initiative has given new hope to the survivors. "Each time people asked me what happened to my face and neck, I was forced to remember the horrific incident that changed my life. I did not want to even think of that. I now want to inspire people with our stories. I want to show them that it's not our fault to have undergone the trauma," she said. Aruna does not even know who threw the acid on her while she was in a moving auto in the summer of 2006.
Mother of one, Sunita was asleep in the verandah of her home at night when village boy Bhola threw acid on her. The boy only spent six months in jail, but Sunita's life took a 360-degree spin. With Sheroes, she believes there is better life to come.
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