Cafe near India’s Taj Mahal run by acid attack survivors closes due to coronavirus pandemic

Sheroes Hangout was popular with tourists visiting Agra and empowered women who had been disfigured in acid attacks

Despite laws against its sale, there is at least one acid attack a day in India, mostly by men seeking revenge for spurned advances or marriage proposals

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Staff at Sheroes Hangout in Agra, who have lost their jobs as revenue at the cafe dropped 80 per cent due to the pandemic downturn. Photo: Facebook

Published: 5:30pm, 14 Jul 2021Updated: 8:45pm, 14 Jul 2021

A cafe in the Indian city of Agra that brought acid attack survivors out of their self-imposed seclusion to brave the world by cooking and serving customers has closed because of a lack of business due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sheroes Hangout, which opened in 2014, had been the start of a new life for the six women who worked there. It gave them a badly needed income and a chance to socialise and regain their confidence after suffering chemical burns, mostly from jilted lovers or rebuffed suitors.

Some of them had never shown their scarred and disfigured faces in public before they joined and realised they had no reason to hide because, as one of them said, they “weren’t the ones who had done any wrong”.

The women, all from poor families, gained the courage to travel on public transport. Their earnings, though small, were also vital as they had spent huge amounts on multiple operations and reconstructive surgeries.

Popular with tourists, particularly foreigners who had heard about its staff, the cafe used to be a clean, bustling place where coffee and snacks were served in a space lined with books on feminism – a rarity in Agra, where the famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal, is located.

But like other businesses, the cafe suffered losses during the various lockdowns and as tourist numbers dried up. Revenue fell by 80 per cent.

Alok Dixit, 32, who founded the Stop Acid Attacks NGO in New Delhi and conceived the idea of the cafe, said crowdfunding helped to keep it afloat for a while but only up to a point.