Spearheads ‘Stop Acid Attacks’ campaign in India.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A young girl from India is one of 10 recipients of the 2014 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, which will be given out at the Department of State by Deputy Secretary of State Heather A. Higginbottom and First Lady Michelle Obama, on Tuesday.
Laxmi, a 16 year-old survivor of an acid attack that left her face permanently scarred and disfigured, is representing India at the awards. She is being recognized for her involvement with the “Stop Acid Attacks” campaign, which is doing work throughout India to make acid attacks easier to prosecute and for acid itself to be harder to obtain.
She was scarred by one of her friends’ brother, a 32 year-old man who grew angry with Laxmi after she refused several of his romantic advances. While she was waiting for a bus one day, he threw acid on her face. Such an event would normally cause the victim to go into hiding, and for women especially, education goes out the door after such an incident.
But not for Laxmi. Ever since suffering her attack, she has been on numerous television shows across India, promoting legislation that would crack down on such crimes perpetrated against women. She has a petition with over 27,000 signatories that would place harder restrictions on the sale of acid products across India, and has even taken a case to India’s Supreme Court which would regulate acid sale and make prosecution of acid criminals easier.
Laxmi also does widespread advocacy work for acid victims, and is trying to create rehabilitation centers for women who need moral and medical support after surviving such an attack. She is also looking to create a compensation program, whereby the government would provide a subsidy to help women attacked by acid to live their lives as independently as possible.
Since being founded in 2007, the State Department’s International Women of Courage Award has recognized 76 women from 49 countries around the world. This year, Laxmi’s co-awardees are:
- Dr. Nasrin Oryakhil, Director, Malalai Maternity Hospital Kabul (Afghanistan)
- Ms. Roshika Deo, Feminist and Political Activist, Be the Change Campaign (Fiji)
- Bishop Rusudan Gotsiridze, Bishop, Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia (Georgia)
- Dr. Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar, Tribunal President, High Risk Court, (Guatemala)
- Ms. Fatimata Touré, Community activist and Executive Director, Groupe de Recherche, de’Etude, de Formation Femme-Action (Mali)
- Dr. Maha Al Muneef, Founder and Executive Director, National Family Safety Program (Saudi Arabia) *To be awarded in absentia
- Ms. Oinikhol Bobonazarova, Director, NGO Perspektiva Plus (Tajikistan)
- Ms. Ruslana Lyzhychko, EuroMaidan volunteer and People’s Artist of Ukraine (Ukraine)
- Ms. Beatrice Mtetwa, human rights lawyer (Zimbabwe)
During their awards ceremony, the women will also get the chance to meet with high-ranking US government officials and NGO representatives to help further their causes. Following today’s activities, they will then begin a tour of the US as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program, which will take them through Pittsburgh, Denver, Des Moines, Indianapolis, Portland, Dallas, Minneapolis, and Syracuse on their individual programs before re-convening for a final stop in Chicago.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com