Reshma Bano, a beauty blogger who was attacked with acid in 2014, will walk on the runway at New York Fashion Week this September.
Reshma, aged 19, was chosen to ‘walk the ramp’ by FTL Moda and the charity [Make Love Not Scars]. She was attacked on her way to an exam centre in 2014 by her estranged brother-in-law. He threw sulfuric acid at her and her sister, burning her sister’s hand and Reshma’s face was severely scolded as she tried to protect her sister. The attack left her blind in one eye, and Reshma has undergone nine months of skin graft surgery.
In August Make Love Not Scars released an emotional video of the moment Reshma was told by the NGO’s founder Ria Sharma that she would be walking out at Fashion Week.
Since the attack, Reshma has been producing videos about makeup and fashion as a way to campaign for greater regulation of the sale and access to acid in India.
Acid violence is often dismissed as something that only happens outside of the west, but attacks have historically coincided with times of industrialisation, when corrosive acid can be purchased without regulation or health and safety restrictions. They are not attacks restricted to certain cultures or religions. Acid attacks were common in western Europe during the industrial revolution.
(Sourced from agencies, Feature image courtesy:oneindia.com)
