Rupa wants to become a dress designer and dazzle the ramp with her creations. This dream has been given wings by young activists working with her at the Agra café, some of whom have left high-profile jobs. The café has a wall displaying some dresses on which Rupa worked with her mentor. She proudly talks about her meeting with famous designer Manish Malhotra. It was her stepmother who had poured acid on Rupa while she slept in her house at Islampur Ghasaoli village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. The date was August 2, 2008, and Rupa was 15. She says her stepmother had even removed water from around her so that she did not survive. “She wanted to kill me from the day my father married her when I was two and my brother just 10 days old. Apparently my father had told her that he had only one child — my brother.” The torture, she recalls, started from day one. “She even tried to poison me. Then my grandparents took me to Faridabad. When they passed away, my stepmother took me back to the village, hoping to usurp some 50,000 rupees my grandparents had collected for my marriage.” Once again the torture began, ending with the acid attack. “She had wanted to kill me. She knew that I was aware of her illicit relationship with another man,” says Rupa. Her uncle took her to the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where she was admitted for around three months. Since then, Rupa has had seven surgeries. But in absence of any outside help, the treatment is now beyond his capacity. Her stepmother continues to live with her father. Does she miss her father? “For what? I am with my family. This is my home,” she says. She now stays with Ritu in a rented flat in Agra and works as a trainee fashion designer at Sheroes Hangout Acid Attack Fighter Ritu , Acid Attack Fighter Rupa, Neetu. Three acid attack victims, three incredible stories of lives shattered, but refusing to break. Of unimaginable pain and an indomitable spirit. All three are proud workers at Sheroes’ Hangout cafe in Agra, the labour of love and commitment of a campaign that has a sole motive to #StopAcidAttacks If you want to contribute in our project check this link: bit.ly/saasheroes
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 14:32:00 +0000
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