Indian acid attack survivor walks the runway at New York Fashion week
Reshma Qureshi suspected the translucent liquid in the plastic bottle was probably acid, yet she believed the best way to protect herself and her sister was to wrestle it from the four men.
As it was, the men held and attacked her, pouring the acid on her arms and back and her face . It ate away the flesh on her left cheek and destroyed her eye. In the aftermath she felt suicidal, and for a year she could think of nothing else.
This week, the 19-year-old flew from India to the US where she walked the ramp at New York Fashion Week, determined to show her quiet defiance as a survivor, and to promote the #TakeBeautyBack campaign.
“This is my first time in New York and I’m very excited,” she told The Independent , the evening before her appearance. “I think it’s important that people hear the story about the survivors of acid attacks and to know they can lead normal lives.”
Acid attacks are commonplace across large parts of the Indian subcontinent and in some South Asian communities in other countries. Frequently, the women are attacked by people they know - relatives who believed they have “dishonoured” the family for some reason or other, or else a man whose advances have been knocked back.
Ms Qureshi, who is from Mumbai, was attacked in May 2014 by her sister’s estranged husband and his friends while traveling to the city of Allahabad in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
She was taken to a local hospital and received the most basic treatment; back in Mumbai she was told there was nothing that could be done to save her eye.
In recent years, campaigners have been demanding action against such attacks, demanding governments in countries such as India better regulate the sale of acid, which is used to clean machinery, and better educating the public about the horror of such incidents.
On Thursday morning, Ms Qureshi sat patiently as a crowd of cameras followed her every step backstage in Manhattan. She was filmed as the dress was fitted, she was filmed as her make-up was done by Chika Chan and her hair was piled to perfection by stylist Aubrey Loots.
Asked if she thought the models around her looked too thin and could do with a decent serving of Indian food.
Photos of her. Click
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/indian-acid-attack-survivor-reshma-qureshi-walks-the-runway-at-new-york-fashion-week-a7232856.html
As it was, the men held and attacked her, pouring the acid on her arms and back and her face . It ate away the flesh on her left cheek and destroyed her eye. In the aftermath she felt suicidal, and for a year she could think of nothing else.
This week, the 19-year-old flew from India to the US where she walked the ramp at New York Fashion Week, determined to show her quiet defiance as a survivor, and to promote the #TakeBeautyBack campaign.
“This is my first time in New York and I’m very excited,” she told The Independent , the evening before her appearance. “I think it’s important that people hear the story about the survivors of acid attacks and to know they can lead normal lives.”
Acid attacks are commonplace across large parts of the Indian subcontinent and in some South Asian communities in other countries. Frequently, the women are attacked by people they know - relatives who believed they have “dishonoured” the family for some reason or other, or else a man whose advances have been knocked back.
Ms Qureshi, who is from Mumbai, was attacked in May 2014 by her sister’s estranged husband and his friends while traveling to the city of Allahabad in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
She was taken to a local hospital and received the most basic treatment; back in Mumbai she was told there was nothing that could be done to save her eye.
In recent years, campaigners have been demanding action against such attacks, demanding governments in countries such as India better regulate the sale of acid, which is used to clean machinery, and better educating the public about the horror of such incidents.
On Thursday morning, Ms Qureshi sat patiently as a crowd of cameras followed her every step backstage in Manhattan. She was filmed as the dress was fitted, she was filmed as her make-up was done by Chika Chan and her hair was piled to perfection by stylist Aubrey Loots.
Asked if she thought the models around her looked too thin and could do with a decent serving of Indian food.
Photos of her. Click
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/indian-acid-attack-survivor-reshma-qureshi-walks-the-runway-at-new-york-fashion-week-a7232856.html
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