At the age of 18, she faced 'one of the cruelest and most painful acts a person has to go through.'
Highlights
- In a post, the woman, talks about the acid attack that changed her life
- She also talks about how she reclaimed her life after the incident
- Her story has been featured on the Humans of Bombay Facebook page
"You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice." This famous quote by Bob Marley may as well have been written for/by this Mumbai woman featured on the Humans of Bombay Facebook page.
In a moving and inspiring post, shared some 18 hours before writing this, the woman, not named, talks about how she reclaimed her life after an acid attack changed it forever.
"Growing up, I never thought of myself as brave or strong. In fact, I would run out of the room at the sight of a needle. I hated visiting hospitals, hated looking at medical apparatus and hoped I never ever have to visit the operation theatre. I couldn't even handle the smallest of injuries," she says on Facebook.
However, at the age of 18, she faced 'one of the cruelest and most painful acts a person has to go through.'
"My neighbour, a young boy, constantly harassed me by proposing marriage every time he saw me," she says. He even threatened to kill her father if she didn't agree to his proposal. She ignored him until one day he threw concentrated acid on her face.
She was in horrible pain but didn't get medical help until six hours after the attack. "After driving the boy out of the house, he (her father) rushed to the police station to file a complaint," she says. "It was too late for doctors to do anything, by then most of my face became disfigured," she adds.
This, however, isn't where her story ends because she didn't let that happen. She moved to Delhi and underwent over 40 surgeries and with the help of Make Love Not Scars, a non-government organization, regained her lost confidence.
"I then went on to complete my 10th and 12th standard education. I took a class in basic computers. I made and sold carry bags out of recycled newspaper. And even I overcame my fear of hospitals and worked as an OPD registrar at a hospital," she says.
What's more incredible is that today she doesn't see herself as a 'fragile young girl' and wants to make a living for her friends and family. "A job will give me the confidence to rise above my situation and help me become an active part of society," she says on Facebook.
Read her post in its entirety below: