: Survivors of acid attack will soon be running a café and salon in the Capital. To be named ‘Sheroes Hangout’, a modified version of the word ‘heroes’, the venture is aimed at making the victims self-reliant.
The first branch of the café was opened in Agra, in 2014, by a group of campaigners who work for the welfare of acid attack survivors.
Alok Dixit, one of the members of ‘Stop Acid Attacks’, the supporting campaign, told The Hindu : “The Agra cafe is becoming popular, because for customers, going to the place is in line with supporting a social cause and getting value for money in terms of food. Now, we are planning to start similar cafes in Delhi, Lucknow and Udaipur.”
In Delhi, the café is coming up in West Delhi’s Kirti Nagar. “Here, we will have a salon and training centre attached to the salon. Business will be up and running by the end of this month,” says Mr. Dixit.
The campaigners have tied up with Naturals Salon, a leading beauty chain, for discharging services. The training centre is also open to women who want to pursue a beautician course.
Sonia, a trainer, who is an acid attack survivor herself, says: “I have received three months’ training as a beautician and make-up artist, and I am ready to pass on the knowledge to girls who want to learn,” she says.
‘They are no different’
The campaigners, however, want people to treat the staff like they treat those at any other cafe or salon.
“For the Agra cafe, we get a lot of messages from people who want to know how they should behave with the staff there. We tell them to be as normal as possible. The idea is not to alienate the survivors, but to make them a part of the society, which is why we started these cafes,” says Mr. Dixit.
