Acid Attack Victim Who Managed To Find Love On Facebook Is Looking Forward To A New Life

Four years ago, when acid melted away her facial muscles, she perhaps thought all was over. Indeed, she lost her vision and her face was an ugly mess. And yet here she was on Saturday, delicately holding on to her bridal dupatta, though failing, like most brides, at handling the pale pink lehenga that probably weighed more than her. Then in the manner of demure brides, she lifted her head slightly and beamed at the man with whom she plans to spend her life. Saturday¡¯s special wedding only proved to 23-year-old Reshma Khatun, an acid attack victim, that she could achieve whatever she wanted to.

¡°He threw acid on my face, but not on my dreams,¡± she declared as she recalled December 2014, when the man whose advances she had rebuffed stalked her, stopped near her car and threw a litre of acid on her face. She remembers the horror of feeling her faced melting away, her hair and clothes burning but being able to see nothing because she was blinded by the vitriolic liquid.

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Her courage flailed in the face of several hospitals that she approached in different places refusing to take up her case. Not surprisingly, there was a point when she felt like giving everything up. Only the love for her mother and the efforts of those who were assisting her through her treatment stopped her from taking any drastic action. When the Acid Survivors Foundation of India stepped in to facilitate medical care, it took all her fortitude to go through two years of blindness and 18 skin graft surgeries. After leaving home at just 19, she persevered to finish her studies in computers and was employed by Lemon Tree hotel in Noida.

On Saturday, all these seem so far back in time. Khatun was happy in the moment. ¡°I met my husband through Facebook. We only chatted for some time before meeting in person,¡± she smiled. ¡°After a year, he proposed to me, but I felt I would be ruining his life by marrying him. Yet he and his loving family eventually made me comfortable with the decision.¡± Ashok Kumar¡¯s eyes shone as he affectionately held his bride¡¯s hand through the ceremonies.

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Khatun feels lucky to have met a wonderful man to take for a husband, but the practicality with which she overcame her trauma was uppermost when she said, ¡°My husband works in Hoshiarpur in Punjab while I work in Noida. We have decided that we will not live together till we are finally secure and stable in our careers.¡±

As she smiled, her radiant face outlined by lovely auburn tresses, she added, ¡°I want to tell all the survivors out there to take me as an example. I might be able to see only with one eye, but I can do my work on my own, and that¡¯s important.¡± An incident of this nature should not stop anyone from leading the life they want to, she felt.

The young bride also spoke lovingly of Pragya Singh of Atijeevan Foundation, who stuck with her through her lengthy struggle getting back to normalcy. She met Singh in Bengaluru and the latter helped her finish her studies and become eligible for a job. Singh, who too survived an acid attack in 2006, set up Atijeevan in 2013 and has till date helped over 200 survivors of acid attack to avail of free corrective surgical procedures. Singh believes in empowering acid attack survivors by helping them learn skills or by pursuing higher education. ¡°All they need is a purpose to get back to normal life after the attacks,¡± she said.