Jakarta Globe, December 23, 2012
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| Acid attack survivor, Sonali Mukherjee, pictured outside her temporary home in New Delhi, on Dec. 6, 2012. (AFP Photo) |
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When Sonali
Mukherjee spurned the advances of three of her fellow students, they responded
by melting her face with acid.
But rather
than hide herself away, the 27-year-old applied to appear on India's
most-watched TV quiz show — and walked away a millionaire.
"If
you can stare at a picture of a pretty woman then you can look at my burnt face
too," Mukherjee tells AFP in her tiny home in the capital New Delhi.
"It's
very easy for victims of acid attacks to swallow poison but I made the choice
to stand up and scream and shout against the violence."
The recent
gang-rape of a university student on a bus in New Delhi — which sparked angry
protests across India — has again shone an uncomfortable spotlight on the
levels of violence against women in the country, where sex assaults are often
dismissed as mere "eve-teasing".
National
crime records show that 228,650 of the total 256,329 violent crimes recorded
last year were against women.
Nine years
ago, Mukherjee was a promising student at a college in the eastern city of
Dhanbad when the three students broke into her home while she was sleeping and
hurled acid on her face for rejecting them.
They used a
liquid known as "Tezaab," which is normally used to clean rusted
tools. Her attackers used it to melt Mukherjee's eyelids, nose and ears.
Even after
22 subsequent surgical procedures, she remains blind and partially deaf. No one
has ever been convicted of the attack.
The three
were arrested and spent some time behind bars on remand but were later freed on
bail and the case has been bogged in India's notoriously slow justice system.
"They
couldn't take a 'no' from me and so they decided to snatch my face, and steal
my life away," she said as she groped for water to wash down medicine
administered by her father.
The Indian
government does not keep specific figures on acid attacks.
According
to the London-based charity Acid Survivors Trust International, about 1,500
acid attacks are reported globally each year. But many more victims do not
report their injuries to the authorities and instead suffer in silence.
Mukherjee
says that numerous appeals failed to produce any financial or legal support
from the state. Instead her family had to sell their two-storey home, farmland,
gold and the cattle to meet medical expenses.
In one
letter to the government she even said that she would prefer to commit suicide
— which is illegal in India — rather than live in continuous pain.
But as she
despaired of funding her treatment, Mukherjee decided to apply to appear on
"Kaun Banega Crorepati," the Indian version of "Who Wants to be
a Millionaire" and which was featured in the movie "Slumdog
Millionaire."
After being
chosen as a contestant, she went on to win 2.5 million rupees ($45,000) last
month after successfully answering 10 questions.
The money
will be used to fund a round of plastic surgery next year for Mukherjee, who
keeps a portrait of herself as a fresh-faced teenaged cadet.
She said
that letters appealing for help had failed to yield results but the sight of
her injuries had a much more profound impact.
"Once
everything else had failed, I decided to use my face."
Mukherjee
says that her winnings may be welcome but they still will not be enough to
cover all her medical bills.
"I won
some money but I need much more for my treatment," she said.
Her determination
not to be a victim has inspired viewers and members of the audience were in
tears when she won the contest.
The host of
the show, Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, called her "the epitome of
courage" for "continuing her fight against all the odds."
"Sometimes
we think that our lives are miserable, everything is against us and then [when]
we come across someone like Sonali we realize how lucky we are and how much we
have got going for us," he said on the show.
Mukherjee
wants to use her high profile to campaign for fellow victims to push for
specific legislation on acid attacks, which are currently covered by domestic
violence laws that carry relatively light sentences.
In 2011,
neighbouring Pakistan adopted legislation increasing the punishment to between
14 years and life for acid attacks and a minimum fine of one million Pakistan
rupees.
"The
men who threw acid on me are roaming in the open but if there were stricter
punishments then they would be behind bars," Mukherjee said.
Indian
lawyer Aparna Bhatt, who has fought a legal battle in the Supreme Court for
another acid victim, has filed a public petition seeking free medical treatment
for acid victims and to regulate the sale of acid.
"India
needs a new law to define acid crime in a far more comprehensive manner. There
should be free medical care, rehabilitation for the victims," Bhatt said.
"Acid
is a dangerous weapon."
Agence France-Presse
“… No person shall be forced into marriage against his or her will. No woman shall be forced to bear or not bear children, against her will. No person shall be forced to hold or not hold views or worship in a manner contrary to his or her choice. Nothing vital to existence shall be withheld from another if it is within the community’s power to give. …”
“… Children are meant to live lives under the beneficent protection of all, free of exploitation, with unhindered access to the necessities of life, education, and health care. …”
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