The journey from pain to purpose of acid attack survivors

The Hindu

15 hours ago

In 2009, Shaheen Malik, who was then 26 and also pursuing MBA, was attacked with acid outside her workplace. The reason: her colleagues felt threatened by her confidence and competence. It left Shaheen's face and vision permanently altered.
'I still remember the green colour of that liquid,' she says. 'For a second, I thought it was a prank. But the burning told me it was not.' She underwent 25 reconstructive surgeries. Even after a decade-and-a-half of the incident, her legal battle continues.
Shaheen remembers how, in the beginning, hospitals refused to admit her because she could not pay up ₹5,00,000. 'What happened to me, happens to many. What does not happen is justice, support, or basic human care,' she says.
The gap between trauma and treatment led Shaheen to set up Brave Souls on July 5, 2021. What started off as a Delhi-based NGO has grown into a pan-India movement offering medical and legal support to acid attack survivors. 'But more than that, a second chance at life for them,' she adds.
Brave Souls, say the beneficiaries, is a sanctuary for survival, self-respect, and soaring dreams for women whose stories have unspeakable pain and unimaginable resilience.
When Shaheen launched the organisation, she had nothing, no money. Only a vision that no survivor should feel helpless like shedid.
Today, the organisation offers reconstructive surgeries, trauma counselling, legal assistance, literacy training, yoga, and vocational skills, all aimed at making the acid attack survivors financially independent. It works in cities across Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Kolkata, and Delhi, and will soon open in Uttar Pradesh. From street plays to courtrooms and hospital ICUs to dance studios, the organisation has become a force behind the acid attack victims.
Here, recovery of an affected person does not end with surgery. It begins when the survivor begins to live again. 'We organise dance sessions, music classes, and outings to public places,' says Shaheen because she believes, 'people must see them, and they must see people'.
One initiative last Summer involved setting up a water and sharbat stall at Nizamuddin. People kept pouring in and many also stopped to ask who they were. 'This simple curiosity is the first step to awareness,' says Shaheen.
She remembers a moving incident involving a family of seven who were all victims of an acid attack, which included a six-month-old and a 60-year-old. Initially turned away by private hospitals for lack of funds, the NGO fought to get them treatment under a Supreme Court ruling.
Shaheen talks of Gulnas, a young woman who lost everything but not her spunk in the acid attack. 'Today, she works at an American firm and has received ₹38 lakh as the highest-ever compensation for gender-based violence. 'She showed me what true transformation looks like,' says Shaheen.
Preeti who was set afire by her husband saw herself burning like Holi Dahan. A traumatised and suicidal Preeti was brought to the shelter by Shaheen. She has had four reconstructive surgeries and is learning to smile again. 'Sometimes the mirror still scares me. But I remind myself I did not do anything wrong. The one who harmed me should be ashamed, not me,' says Preeti.
At 14, Rahat refused a boy's advances. In retaliation, he threw acid on her. The culprit was sentenced to eight years. Today, Rahat lives in the Brave Souls home, stitching clothes and holding on to her faith. 'I will continue to work hard and believe something good will come,' she says.
When asked how she defines strength, Shaheen says, 'It is not taking revenge but showing up every day when hiding is easier and dreaming big when everyone tells you not to.'