As if an acid attack isn’t traumatic enough, survivors are forced to deal with painful rejections in society, especially when it comes to work. Many are not given jobs or are asked to leave because of their scars
Shabbo (in the Mickey Mouse t shirt), and on her right, Reshma, Saira with her daughter, and Daulatbi Khan. Pic/Sneha Kharabe
As if an acid attack isn’t traumatic enough, survivors are forced to deal with painful rejections in society, especially when it comes to work. Many are not given jobs or are asked to leave because of their scars.
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A special women’s court had sentenced Ankur Panwar to death on September 8, in the Preeti Rathi acid attack case.
Reshma Banu (32), a survivor of such an attack, is a mother of three teenagers who have dropped out of educational institutes because she cannot pay their fees. Reshma has been trying for a year to get a job, but claims no one is hiring her because of the scars on her body.
No jobs
Her husband left after the attack in 2010. Since then she has been borrowing money from her relatives and friends to feed her kids.
“I have spent the compensation of Rs 3 lakh on my treatment. Now, I am hunting for a job so that I can educate my children and feed them. I am ready to work as a maid but wherever I go for a job, they treat me like an untouchable,” said Reshma.
Reshma, and two of her sisters, were attacked by their eldest sister and her husband with hydrochloric acid, over a property dispute and Rs 50,000. Last month, the Sessions Court sentenced her.
Saira Banu, her sister, has a daughter who is six-years-old. “My husband is a daily wager who earns around R6,000 every month. Last month, he fell sick and got only Rs 3,000. So on her birthday we couldn’t buy our daughter a cake. I used to work in a furniture shop where I got R9,000 that helped me support my family. But after the incident, they fired me because of the scars on my body. Since then I am struggling to get a job,” said Saira.
Even well educated acid attack survivors are not getting jobs. Shabbo, a 21-year-old Bcom graduate, was attacked when she was only one month old by her father. He threw acid on her mother while Shabbo was on her lap.
Her mother succumbed to the attack and Shabbo sustained severe burns on her face and had an eye affected.
She completed her graduation with 68% in 2015. She got hired by a well-known multinational company but within two months, she was asked to leave.
“They said they got complaints about my face,” said Shabbo.
But there was a silver lining for her. Recently, a call centre hired her. “We hired her, as she is well qualified. More people should hire such victims to make them financially stable and independent. This helps them cope with their depression,” said Preeti Arora, co-founder of the call centre.
SC’s order ignored
Last year, in December, the Supreme Court ordered all states and Union Territories to consider acid attack survivors as disabled people and provide them benefits under the Disabled Act of India. But many are not provided such facilities.
Daulatbi Khan has a certificate from a BMC-run hospital, saying she has 75 per cent burns from the attack. Despite this, she had to run from pillar to post to get herself registered as disabled. She is now working with the Human Rights Law Network for acid attack victims. “Though SC has clearly ordered to include us in the disabled, no government department is supporting us,” said Khan.
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