Acid attack survivors from the Sheroes Hangout Café organized an event raising concern about the disabled people on the pre-evening of the International Disability Day which is observed on 3rd December. The event was marked with the presence of Satya Prakash Patel, IAS Department of the person with disabilities as a chief guest. The other prominent people present in the event included Ms. Kanchan Singh Chauhan, Author, and Activist; Amu Mohan and Abu Hubaida, International Para Shuttlers and Mr. Ashish Shukla, Director, Chhanv Foundation.
The theme of the event was ‘United Nations agenda of 2021 Leadership and Participation of person with disabilities for the International Disability Day’ and the issue of Acid Attack survivors inclusion into the disability category and its exclusiveness.
And the Agenda was to highlight the demand related to the requirements of persons with disabilities Post Pandemic challenges and highlighting the disability of acid attack survivors.
HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY DAY
The United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution in the year 1932, observing the 3rd of December as the International Day of disabled persons. Every year, since then an annual agenda is set which looks after the concerns of the disabled people globally, and the resolution is passed highlighting the needs and demands of the person with disability category. In the year 2019; United Nations has initiated the inclusiveness policy for the disabled person wherein, a constructive model was framed which will accommodate the needs of the disabled people in the modern scenario and give them considerable representation. The Chhanv Foundation resonates with the UN policy of inclusiveness and facilitated the event on the theme of Leadership and Participation of persons with disabilities marked by the UN agenda of 2021. The event also highlighted the issue of Acid Attacks as a new domain in the Disability category and raised awareness regarding its challenges, especially during the Covid-19.
ACID ATTACK UNDER THE RPWD ACT OF 2016
Recently, Acid Attack survivors have been categorized as people with disabilities under the RPWD act of 2016. The act allows 4 percent reservation for person with disabilities and various compensation schemes to be provided to the beneficiaries of Acid Attacks, Acid Attack Survivors present in the event raised concerns about the proper implementation of such schemes from the timely payment of the disability compensation to the consideration of the holistic rehabilitation program. Chhanv Foundation has also started a petition during the pandemic to prioritize the needs of disabled people.
“I completely caged myself post-burn. When I saw my face for the first time after burn, I felt as if I don’t want to see myself ever again. Visiting the hospital became a thing of the daily routine for me. I felt scared after seeing my own face and that was the worst thing for me and I can say that was the darkest phase of my life. I was terrified. I was blank and just unable to figure out that how will I face the world and their harsh reactions as in how they will react. I used to hide my face due to that and opened it in 2018 after a lot of hardships and gathering courage. I felt mentally disabled when for a moment I just decided that I don’t want to live anymore after I saw my face. She felt as if I just don’t even deserve to be alive with that burnt face.”- Jaya Yadav, a survivor
SHEROES HANGOUT CAFE’S ROLE IN RAISING THE CONCERN REGARDING THE ISSUE OF DISABILITY
With the onset of the ‘Stop Acid Attacks’ Campaign in 2014, the betterment of survivors remained neglected due to their exclusion from society. To bring acid attack survivors together, move towards their normalization in society, and empower them, the ‘Sheroes Hangout’ Cafe was established as an inclusive model of rehabilitation and empowerment to the survivors. Through Sheroes, there was an effort to bring forth a model of interdependency where survivors can be empowered. The Café ensured that the issue concerning acid survivors and other disabled people is consistently brought up to the mainstream. However, the improper implementation of government policies and testing times covid-19 have brought up several challenges.
“I was completely blind for a year and I began to feel disabled when I was unable to see the world that everyone craves for. Unfortunately, still I face a lot of complications in my eyes. Due to the acid attack at times, I feel an itching and burning sensation in my eyes that intervenes in my day-to-day life operations,” Rupali, a 26-year-old acid attack survivor, present during the event said.
