Varanasi’s ‘The Orange Café’ To Be Run Entirely By Acid Attack Victims

When we talk about crimes against women, we mostly speak about rape and physical assault. Somehow the conversation surrounding acid attacks gets suppressed. While there no way to compare the pain of one abuse from another, we cannot ignore the fact that victims of acid attack are scarred for life – their appearance and physical abilities seldom do not remain the same, for which they go through terrible instances of social isolation. They tend to lose means for self-sustenance since the majority of employers aren’t willing to hire them.

Creating a way for acid attack victims to be financially independent, a restaurant in Varanasi has been opened which will be completely run by them, reports News18. ‘The Orange Café’ is the third such restaurant to be opened in the country, after Agra and Lucknow, where the waiters, chefs, and billing personnel will all be acid attack victims.

The Orange Café is the brainchild of Ajay Kumar Patel who is the founder of an NGO named ‘The Red Brigade’ which trains women in self-defence.

According to Hindustan Times, Patel has been travelling across Uttar Pradesh in search of acid attack victims. He has shortlisted 4 women as of now who are willing to shift to Varanasi and work in the café.

They are currently being trained in cooking, customer service, and billing. Patel hopes that by working in the café, the women will be financially independent and support their families as well.

Kudos to Ajay Kumar Patel for his initiative! We hope the country builds more opportunities for acid attack victims.