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| Lakshmi (Image: Biznessweb) |
Some incidences are so strong that they don’t leave you
without giving any impact. Some things leave a mark which can never be hidden
but with these marks, it gives you a very deep impact. It depends on you
whether you choose to be a victim or a legend!
One such story is of Lakshmi! Lakshmi was just fifteen years old when that terrible
incident occurred. A 32 years old man splashed acid on her to take revenge of
not accepting his marriage proposal. Acid made her blind and she was hit by
passing vehicles. She remembers the day when she was asking people for help and
nobody came forward.
It’s disgusting to see that people talk about problems of
the country but when their own time come to contribute towards their
fundamental duties, they just act as a hollow eyewitness. She could have
survived from such deep burns if she could have been taken to the hospital in
time!
‘First time, I saw myself in mirror. I didn’t want to live
anymore. I didn’t know how to live my life with this face’. It was her words
when she discovered herself after that horrible accident. When her will to live
was vanishing, her father’s words gave her reason to live.
He said, “One day you’ll achieve something big in your
life”. These words left such an impact on her that she recalls these words as
life changing to her.
When all children of her age went to school, she was
attending court sessions. This incident left its impact on her whole family. “Nobody
stood beside me except my parents, one aunt and my lawyer”, she says.
She is working in many campaigns and giving support to the
women and girls affected by it. I am personally a supporter of her. Last year,
I remember signing a petition for acid attack victims and that petition was
signed by 27,000 people across the country. They had worked hard for this cause
and result came that honorable Supreme Court directed state government to regulate the
sale of acid.
It was a hard journey which Lakshmi walked with confidence
and showed the world that life of a girl is not over after acid attack!
She is director of Chhanv foundation which is a NGO
dedicated to help acid attack survivors in India. She received a 2014
International Women of Courage award by USA’s first woman Michelle Obama.
Now, she is chosen as new face of Indian fashion brand ‘viva
n diva’. She is #FaceofCourage. It’s an initiative by viva n diva to motivate
such victims to come up in fashion world.
Beauty is not held by your face that wrinkles after a time,
it remains in the innocence of eyes forever!
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