Indian cafes that employ acid attack victims help fund their treatment and rehabilitation

The Taj Mahal, an ivory-white marble mausoleum in Agra, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, sees tens of thousands of visitors every day, many drawn by the enduring tale of a husband’s love for his favourite wife. Just a few kilometres away from the site built to immortalise the couple’s romance, a cafe established to help women whose lives were marred by tragedy and violence, many at the hands of their husbands, stands in stark contrast. The women, who are victims of acid attacks, are hired as waitresses to help them reintegrate into society. At the spacious Sheroes Hangout in northern Agra, which offers Indian and Western foods and beverages, the profits are used to fund the treatment and rehabilitation of the survivors of acid attacks, an unfortunately common occurrence in Indian society. On an afternoon in autumn 2024, a large group of tourists visiting for lunch snapped photos of the smiling staff who wore T-shirts saying: “My beauty is my smile.” Many attacks in which acid or other corrosive substances are thrown on women by men seeking vengeance over lost or unfulfilled love, or by in-laws in family property disputes, are reported in the country every year. After being targeted by men who are intent on disfiguring or even killing them, the women at the cafe show they have lost no dignity or courage, qualities that have only grown through their employment. Posters of survivors line the walls of Sheroes, displaying the faces of the women, their names and the situations in which they were assaulted. The cafe’s name, Sheroes, is a portmanteau of “she” and “heroes”, used to describe acid attack survivors who have been employed at the cafe via the Chhanv Foundation, co-founded by Ashish Shukla, 34. “Victims are often discriminated against because of their appearance, and they tend to be shunned in society,” said Shukla, who is also co-owner of the cafe, which opened in 2014. “We wanted to create a place where these women could regain the will to live and a means to earn a living.” Originally a journalist, Shukla has written articles addressing the issue of acid attacks. His foundation initially aimed to bring the crimes to the attention of authorities, but it was not enough. “We did some coverage of the campaign and wrote letters to the authorities urging them to take action,” he said, adding that there was “a big response and we thought we had succeeded” before a victim pointed out that it did not help with the fact that she was still going hungry. Shukla then met Geeta Mahor, 53, who lived in Agra and was in dire straits, badly in need of money to start a business. Mahor’s story of being the victim of an acid attack inspired the idea to open the cafe that would become a lifeline for many such women. When Mahor was in her early 20s, her then estranged and alcoholic husband splashed acid on her face while she slept with two of her young daughters. Mahor was severely burned; her two-year-old was left blind in both eyes, while her one-year-old died from her injuries two months after the attack. When she tried working as a housekeeper, she was refused work because of her disfigured face. She had to undergo numerous surgeries, and life became increasingly difficult. “After the attack, I was in bed for 14 months and my husband kept on denying he had done the crime. After I came to my senses and filed a police report against him, he was put behind bars for three years,” said Mahor, who explained that after previously leaving her husband, she had returned to live with him after several years because she needed financial support. She was also initially afraid that two of her other daughters who were unharmed from the incident could be attacked by him, but decided to stay even though his abusive behaviour continued – a decision that many women like Mahor in poor rural areas might make. The most difficult challenge that we face is that when we approach a survivor, it is the police who generally stop us as they believe that we might make it a big issue that portrays a bad message to society Ashish Shukla, Sheroes Hangout co-founder After hearing about how Mahor’s life was turned upside down, Shukla became determined to open a small cafe to support her and other acid attack survivors, crowdfunding the money required. Including Mahor, who became the cafe’s first employee, there are about eight acid attack survivors working there. Two more cafes have opened in Uttar Pradesh, employing about 50 victims in all. Mahor’s story is one of many. Every year, hundreds of acid attacks occur in India, with common reasons given for the violence being denial of sex, refusal of marriage and family disputes. “It was April 2013, when I was attacked by a random guy who poured acid on me and my youngest child while we slept,” said Sudha Devi, another survivor working at Sheroes. A widow, Devi returned to stay on vacant land that had been owned by her late father after her husband’s death. As ownership of the land was in dispute, her paternal family tried to have her killed, she said, by hiring a man to throw acid on her. According to the latest data recorded by India’s National Crime Records Bureau, in 2022 there were around 200 acid attacks reported nationwide. However, Shukla insisted “there are obviously more” as many go unreported. Though men have also been victims of such attacks, women are generally targeted the most. At Sheroes, courses in English conversation, crafts and basic skills are also taught to help women become self-reliant. “Our next plan is for the victims to start their own businesses,” Shukla said. Adding to the challenge, there are no government support programmes for the victims and Shukla admits their activities only get “halfway there”. Despite there being restrictions on the sale and purchase of substances used by offenders, conviction rates for illegal acid attacks are low. “The most difficult challenge that we face is that when we approach a survivor, it is the police who generally stop us as they believe that we might make it a big issue that portrays a bad message to society,” Shukla said. They next plan to open a cafe in India’s capital, New Delhi. But until the government gets serious about banning sales of acid, the crimes will persist, Shukla said. As for Mahor, she is determined to make the best of the rest of her life, especially for her blind daughter’s sake. “I’ve lived with this face,” she said. “I want to make the life of my daughter beautiful and bright. That is why I will never give up and keep working.”

Indian cafes that employ acid attack victims help fund their treatment and rehabilitation

Sheroes Hangout cafes in India’s Uttar Pradesh state employ about 50 women victims of acid attacks, a common occurrence in Indian society