Scarred But Winners

“Vitriolage” is a very polite way to say “threw acid in someone’s face.”

We don’t blame you if you can’t bring yourself to look at what Mahua Biswas intends to spend months facing head-on. Mahua has already begun studying and writing about the horrific phenomenon of acid attacks in India. When someone gets doused with acid, their skin melts, they might lose their eyesight, their bones could dissolve.

By far the vast majority of victims are women, disfigured and tortured, most often by someone they know and maybe love, or maybe don’t. Acid attacks happen because a woman says no to a sexual advance, a marriage proposal, or because a husband is furious that his wife has given birth to a daughter instead of a son.

You probably don’t imagine this happening on the streets of a major European city, or in many countries around the world, but it does — hundreds of acid attacks happen in London every year, for example, and, not typically, most victims there are men.

Some die, most don’t. This Awesome project is called “Scarred But Winners.” Mahua wants to spend half a year learning as much as possible about acid attacks, studying the trends in the UK as well as in India, looking at causes, treatments, prevention, and opportunities for survivors. One of the hoped-for outcomes is a database of nonprofits providing support to survivors as well as places in India where acid burn patients can receive quality treatment for free or at subsidized rates.

Awesome Without Borders cash will help Mahua with the many expenses involved in a project of this magnitude. We’re so glad that someone is willing to tackle this challenging and sensitive work, we’re happy to help pay for it.

Check out some of Mahua’s previously published work here.