Meet Mohini Kumar, An Acid Attack Survivor Who Has Devoted Her Life In Helping Other Victims

Violence against women is perhaps the most brutal form of patriarchal discrimination that we face in the world today. On an everyday basis, news about acid attacks, domestic violence, dowry killing and rapes reaches us from different sources and with each news, our hearts sink a little deeper.

We wonder what sort of demons are we living amongst, what kind of a world are we creating for our children, when will all this come to a standstill? These questions are difficult to answer and the world that has been created is an amalgamation of different processes that are built up over time. Sure, it is one hell of a task to change this stark reality, but all of us can contribute a little and make it a better place.

Meet Mohini Kumar, hailing from Jaipur. She is an acid attack survivor. She opened up about her journey and how she thought she would never get over her plight.

“I would be lying if I said that I never contemplated suicide every day after acid peeled off half of my face and neck.”

 

In 2005, Mohini Kumar was attacked by a spurned lover who threw a jug full of acid at her while she was going to her new workplace in Jaipur.

“I restricted myself in my room and was largely confined to my bed. I was an adopted child, and people often used to tell my parents that they would not have seen this had they adopted a son.”

She did not step out of the house again for a year and refused to head out with the disfigured face. Acid not only disfigures a pretty face but it also disfigures the self-respect of the victim.

 

After undergoing several surgeries, Mohini took up a job as a tele-caller during which she met her husband.

“IT WAS DURING THIS JOB WHEN I MET MY HUSBAND. WE TALKED FOR A LONG TIME UNTIL I TOLD HIM THAT I HAVE SURVIVED AN ACID ATTACK.”

“When he first met me after three years of phone calls, he saw my face and went down on his knees and proposed me.”

There are men who are so insecure that the only refuge they find, is in harming the opposite gender, while there are others who find security in co-existing and we sure need more of the latter category!

 

Mohini now works as a coordinator for the Delhi commission of women (DCW) where she counsels women who have undergone similar misogynist practices of rape, acid attacks, domestic violence, etc.

She is helping these hurt souls and trying to get back the sunshine in their lives which only shows us that she has overcome her tragedy and treating life as a clean slate with no negativity from her past. Like a rockstar, she handles nearly 1500 complaints in a month.

 

Mohini has a powerful message for not only the victims but also for the society which has the tendency to put all the blame on the victim, because, how can the male gender ever be wrong?

 

People like Mohini are very few, who have faced a lot of hardships in life but what they live for is bringing a change in society, for helping women cope with this violence. Women have to realise that what happens to them is not their own mistake. Here’s to this brave young woman who decided to not let her past overshadow her entire life!

News Source: IndiaToday