When I was only nine months old, my father was martyred in a bomb blast attack, leaving my 24-year-old mother to raise me alone. Despite the profound grief, she exhibited remarkable resilience, breaking societal barriers with incredible strength. Inspired by her courage, I developed a deep passion for social work.
At the age of 14, I endured a horrifying incident that changed my life. A guy approached me; however, I denied him as I was not interested in him.
One evening, while leaving a temple with my best friend, I saw two boys on a bike. The one sitting behind had a bottle wrapped in newspaper. Suddenly, he threw acid on me. The strong smell was overwhelming, and I noticed fumes coming out of my skin. The pain was excruciating, and I collapsed from the intense burning sensation.
The acid burned through my clothes and skin, causing severe pain. The treatment I went through was extremely painful and horrifying. I could have lost my eye by just an inch. The lack of visible scars doesn't invalidate the suffering I endured.
The experience left a deep wound in my mind, and I was left functioning in a state of fear. When something like this happens in the formative years of your life, it changes your whole perception of people.
The culprit who threw acid on me was punished, but things did not end there for me. The acid attack haunted me for so long. It wasn’t easy to weave new hopes all over again, and I was trying my best to overcome this incident. I shifted to Delhi for my schooling at a family friend's house.
I enjoyed being there as I used to love being around a family away from home. Things were fine until one night my friend came to my room. He was reeking of alcohol and started touching me inappropriately. In an attempt to escape from his clutches, my head hit a nail on the wall and started bleeding. Escaping from his clutches, I managed to lock myself in the washroom and waited for him to leave. He kept banging on the door for half an hour.
At that point, I even thought of jumping from a small window in that washroom to escape from him. Fortunately, he passed out as he was drunk, and I reached out to my friends for help and escaped that situation.
This incident left me shattered, and I struggled with intense emotional challenges and anxiety. I did not have the courage to ask for help back then as people were so quick to judge me. The trauma and anxiety I experienced were further compounded by societal victim-blaming and slut-shaming.
I did not have the bandwidth to overcome this without any help and support. I struggled to process the anxiety-filled experiences of these incidents. I sought therapy to process my thoughts and get help to manage the emotional challenges I was facing. During this difficult phase, it was my mother’s support and her unyielding spirit that became my greatest strength and inspiration. She provided me with the support I needed during those challenging times.
From the depths of despair, I emerged with renewed resolve. At 26, I founded the Shaheed Ramashray Welfare Society (SRWS) NGO, dedicated to empowering women victims of domestic violence, underprivileged children, and drug addicts. My activism is driven by a desire to address victim shaming and ensure that survivors do not face further harassment. I am committed to transforming societal attitudes and supporting those who, like me, have endured significant challenges.
In the past six years, the dedicated work I do at my NGO has transformed 1000 lives. Shaheed Ramashray Welfare Society (SRWS) has worked dedicatedly towards women empowerment, child education, digital literacy and self defense. I have worked on different cases through our campaigns like log kya Kahengey, Aazad Pankh, Badlaav and Your Safe Space. The ability to transform my personal pain into a purposeful mission is a profound sense of joy in my work. I want to extend the inspiration, encouragement, and support I received from my mother by offering it to those facing challenges.
~Anonymous
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