This Acid Attack Crusader Now Needs Your Help
Following media reports on acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal’s grim financial condition, support has poured in from all quarters, most notably from Bollywood actor and social activist Akshay Kumar, who transferred Rs 5 lakhs to her account.
Laxmi was attacked in 2005 when she was 15, by a 32-year-old man whose sexual advances she rejected. She was rescued by a taxi driver and was taken to a hospital in New Delhi, undergoing nine major operations to reduce the pain and severity of the burns she suffered. The final operation was so precarious, that it put her in critical condition for four long days. Yet, Laxmi had survived and become the standard bearer of acid victims all over the world.
Along the way, she became one of the fiercest voices against acid attacks, and gathered 27,000 signatures for a petition to curb acid sales, eventually taking that cause to the Indian Supreme Court.
That petition led the Supreme Court to order the central and state governments to regulate the sale of acid, and the Parliament to make prosecutions of acid attacks easier to pursue.
An acid-attack is in many ways not dissimilar to the act of murder. The latter involves one individual physically take the life of a fellow human. In an acid attack, the attacker crushes the soul of the victim. He not only disfigures and maims his victim, he also kills her hopes and dreams.
But Laxmi didn’t let her adverse circumstances kill her soul. She instead mustered up indomitable will and agency, going on to co-found an NGO — Channv Foundation, with her partner Alok Dixit to help others who had been affected by the scourge of acid violence in India.
The 30-year-old activist has received many awards and medals and even won the US State Department’s International Women of Courage Award in 2014, which was presented to her by the-then US First Lady, Michelle Obama.
The couple eventually separated and Laxmi got custody of her daughter. She would make do with the honourarium amount she received as Director of an NGO but that, too, stopped soon when she had to quit her job.
Laxmi says she feels honoured every time she is invited to host TV shows or walk the ramp but over the years she has stopped participating because she has a child to look after and there’s no payment involved.
But medals and awards alone don’t pay bills and an acid attack survivor shouldn’t have to worry about house rent, while looking for a job, Akshay Kumar told the Hindustan Times.
“My contribution is a very small gesture. I am embarrassed to even mention it. The idea is that Laxmi should be able to search for a job with dignity, without having to worry about paying house rent or stressing about not being able to provide a nutritious meal to her baby. I wish people realise that when a person is in need of livelihood, medals, awards and certificates don’t pay the bills. It’s important to support through practical means,” he said.
India’s Acid Attack Crisis
India had around 300 recorded attacks in 2017. Research indicates that the majority of victims are women and girls and the attacks often occur in public places such as roads, schools, colleges.
The real number of attacks is likely to exceed 1000 attacks a year.
In recent years the Indian government have taken steps to address the problem through the passing of new acid specific legislation particularly around the control and sale of acid and compensation for survivors. However implementation of these laws varies in consistency from state to state.
Unfortunately evidence suggests that key aspects of the laws are not being effectively enforced; acid remains easy to obtain and many survivors have trouble accessing compensation, medical care and justice.
Research reveals that the total time taken for litigation around a case to end is between 5–10 years on average and in most cases (76%) the attack is committed by a person who is known to the victim.
According to Laxmi, the crux of the problem in India “is the way the boys are raised. … They are taught from the childhood that they are superior to women.”
“It is a patriarchy mindset that is leading to such crimes,” she said. “Even now the society here thinks a girl’s dream is not a dream.”
How Ketto is helping Laxmi
Ketto recognizes that violence against women and girls is the most widespread form of systematic abuse worldwide, affecting one third of all women in their lifetime. Preventing violence against women and girls is a development goal in its own right, and important in achieving better lives for individual women, their families and greater development progress for all of humanity.
Please click on the link below and support our efforts to help Laxmi Agarwal.
And click below to read on prior work Ketto has undertaken to alleviate the suffering of acid attack victims. Start learning more about acid violence. Keep updated on the latest news and add your voice to ending acid violence.
Ketto Blog remains committed to inspiring and compelling social change to India’s most pressing problems through the power of great stories and engaging our audiences to take meaningful action.
