Nine women disfigured by acid became defiant models Saturday at the first haute couture fashion show for the survivors of the growing scourge of acid attacks in India.
The women, nearly all victims of husbands or close family, paraded in gowns donated by top Indian designers including Rohit Bal, Ranna Gill and Archana Kochhar. None covered their face.
‘I was very nervous,’ said Meena Khatoon, mother of a young son after her venture down the catwalk.
Reshma Qureshi, 20, an acid attack survivor and model looking into the mirror after her makeup during a fashion show organised by the ‘Make Love Not Scars’ NGO in New Delhi, India, on Saturday
Qureshi, pictured having her makeup done, appeared at the New York fashion week last year and who is now writing a book that will come out next year
Mohini Gaurav, 33, an acid attack survivor getting her makeup applied by stylist during the fashion show in New Delhi, India
Soni Gupta, 28, an acid attack survivor walks the ramp during a fashion show organised by the ‘Make Love Not Scars’ NGO
The women, nearly all victims of acid attacks by husbands or close family, paraded in gowns donated by top Indian designers including Rohit Bal, Ranna Gill and Archana Kochhar
But the New Delhi woman, who was attacked by her ex-husband, insisted she had a point to prove.
‘People often looked away when I went outside. They would walk in the opposite direction when they saw me. I would face a lot of problems,’ Khatoon told AFP.
‘But then one day I thought, if that’s the way you think, so be it. I have to build my life, I want my son to study and I have to support him.’ Khatoon now runs her own small business fixing mobile phones.
She has been helped by Make Love Not Scars which organised the New Delhi show.
The group helps survivors reconstruct their lives and in many cases their faces.
It also backed Reshma Bano Qureshi, 20, who appeared at the New York fashion week last year and who is now writing a book that will come out next year.
Soni Gupta swaped her first outfit for a coral-coloured top and skirt (pictured above) during the fashion show in New Delhi on Saturday
Qureshi, who was attacked three years ago by her brother-in-law who had thought he was throwing acid at his wife, said she was afraid to leave her home after the attack
Anju Singh, 32, an acid attack survivor getting her makeup applied by stylist during the fashion show. All of the women who took part left their faces uncovered during the show
Mohini Gaurav, 33, smiles as she sits backstage to get her hair and makeup done by stylists for the fashion show on Saturday
Hundreds of attacks are reported each year, but Tania Singh, vice president of Make Love Not Scars, believes the true figure is in the thousands. Pictured above, Soni Gupta getting her hair done for the fashion show
Qureshi, who was attacked three years ago by her brother-in-law who had thought he was throwing acid at his wife, was also afraid to leave her home.
‘I was scared it would happen again. I was bothered by how people reacted to me on the streets. People would look away.
‘People would say what happened to you? They would say no one will marry you. They’d say with a deformed face you’re not beautiful. But I’m proud and confident of who I am. I want people to know the face is not what makes you beautiful, it is your heart.
‘I am so happy because the other girls had the same opportunity to enjoy the experience that I had before.’
Hundreds of attacks are reported each year, but Tania Singh, vice president of Make Love Not Scars, believes the true figure is in the thousands.
She said local governments do not report all cases, some women die before a criminal case is launched and some choose to stay with abusive families.
Anupuma Kumari Rai, 32, gets her makeup and hair done ahead of Saturday’s fashion show. Make Love Not Scars said slocal governments do not report all acid cases, some women die before a criminal case is launched and some choose to stay with abusive families
Mamta, an acid attack survivor getting her makeup applied by stylist during the fashion show. Some women who took part said they were afraid to leave their homes after being attacked
The fashion show was an important way to boost survivors’ confidence, its organisers said. Pictured above, Qureshi gets her hair done ahead of the show
Ria Sharma, 24, (left) and Tania Singh founders of ‘Make Love Not Scars’, a Delhi-based NGO, who are helping in the rehabilitation of acid attack survivors, pictured during a fashion show organised by them in New Delhi
The Lalit hotel, where the fashion show was held, has provided a room for one woman who was attacked two weeks ago and is waiting for help. Pictured above, Sharma speaks during the fashion show on Saturday
‘We had one case where a woman was attacked by her husband three times and she still continues to live with him.’
The Lalit hotel, where the fashion show was held, has provided a room for one woman who was attacked two weeks ago and is waiting for help.
The fashion show was an important way to boost survivors’ confidence, Singh said.
‘A lot of them are just having a good time, they have never had such a good time.’
Many of the women at first refuse to take off their scarves when they go to Make Love Not Scars.
‘They say “we can’t do it, we are pretty ugly” and we tell them that’s not true you are not ugly, society is ugly.’
The fashion show is ‘a chance to realise that they deserve acceptance, love and belonging. Now they can go back out there and they can tell the world that they don’t have to hide their faces and scars. It is the world that needs to change its thinking’.