‘I’m not a victim. I’m a survivor. The man who attacked me will cover his face. I won’t.’ These are the words spoken by Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor and campaigner for rights of acid attack victims, now a household name. In the coming weeks, you will also remember the names of Rekha Devi, Somvati, Vimla Passi and Badam Devi. Why do you ask? Well, these brave acid attack survivors might be from different places, different ages, different walks of life and even attacked with acid for different reasons. But what unites these strong women is their urge to move on in life and have no reason to cover their faces. They will soon be running Varanasi’s The Orange Cafe which will be entirely managed and operated by acid attack survivors.
What’s In It?
What’s in a name you ask? Well, when it comes to Varanasi’s The Orange Cafe, there is an empowering reason behind this name. ‘The Orange’ is a reference to UNESCO’s ‘Orange World Campaign’. It’s 16-day activism that marks gender-based violence against women. It kicks off on 25th November and goes on till 10th December every year. Coming to the cafe named ‘The Orange’ this will be opened in the Durga Kund area of Varanasi and is a project of the Red Brigade Trust. This is an NGO that trains women in self-defence.
Founder of the Red Brigade, Ajay Kumar Patel stated that the sole aim of opening such a cafe is to enable acid attack survivors in owning and running the cafe. The cafe will initially start from a rented place and they will grow the ownership over time. He further revealed that the women are currently undergoing training to cook, serve customers and take care of billing. The training is done in a manner, to enable women to not be dependent on others for completing tasks. In the initial months, the women will be paid a token amount and later they will share the profit among themselves. The Orange Cafe in Varanasi was inspired by the famous Sheroes Hangout Cafe in Lucknow and Agra which is run by acid attack survivors.
Also Read: Sheroes, A Cafe Run By Acid Attack Survivors In Lucknow
What’s More?
The Orange will be opened in a 600 sq ft space and will feature local nutritious delicacies on the menu. The decor inside the cafe will be designed by the Visual Arts Department of the Banaras Hindu University. There will be shades of orange and red to highlight the struggles of women. Somvati is looking forward to running the cafe with her fellow colleagues, as she is hopeful that they can finally stand on their own feet and not be dependent on their families for survival. The 18-year-old woman was attacked her neighbour in Bareilly for not giving into his advances. But now she holds her head high and desires to give a good education to her 10-year-old son and strongly feels that The Orange will help her fulfil her dreams. Check out The Inspirational Story Of Anmol Rodriguez, Acid Attack Warrior And A Proud Model
Well, we are really pleased that cafes like these are coming up and empowering acid attack survivors to stand on their own feet. The warmth of their personalities and their inner strength will definitely be reflected in the service and food if such lovely cafes. And we do hope that many more such cafes are established all over India. After all, as Laxmi Agarwal said, attackers may have poured acid on these women’s faces but not on their dreams.