In a courageous fight against systemic injustice, Indian acid attack survivors are confronting legal limitations and deep-rooted social stigma. Shaheen Malik, a prominent disability rights activist who has endured 25 surgeries since her 2009 attack, leads this battle through her Brave Souls Foundation.
The critical legal gap centers on India’s 2016 Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, which currently recognizes only survivors with visible disfigurement from externally applied acid. This exclusion leaves victims like Ruman (name changed), who was forced to ingest acid during domestic violence in 2019, without access to compensation and rehabilitation benefits. At 28 years old, Ruman weighs merely 21kg due to severe internal injuries and requires constant medical supervision.
Malik’s petition to the Supreme Court in December seeks to amend this legislation to include internal injuries from forced acid ingestion. “For these survivors,” Malik explains, “the disfigurement is internal but their lives are extremely challenging as they struggle to breathe, speak and swallow despite numerous surgeries.”
The legal landscape remains grim. Conviction rates in acid attack cases are alarmingly low, with National Crime Records Bureau data showing only 43 of 703 pending cases disposed in 2023, resulting in just 16 convictions. Meanwhile, reported cases have increased from 176 in 2021 to 207 in 2023.
In a significant development, the Supreme Court recently directed all states to provide yearly reports on acid attacks, case dispositions, and rehabilitation schemes. The court strongly condemned these attacks and called for extraordinary measures including auctioning attackers’ assets to compensate victims and shifting the burden of proof onto the accused.
Despite legal mandates requiring free treatment, survivors face practical barriers. “Many private hospitals refuse admission without court orders,” Malik reports, “and even then, treatment is often delayed or discontinued midway.”
Social isolation compounds these challenges. Survivors face discrimination in housing and daily life, with many landlords refusing to rent properties due to superstitions or discomfort with visible scars. Malik herself currently struggles to find new office space for her foundation amid this prejudice.
Through the Brave Souls Foundation, established with fellow survivor Laxmi Agarwal in 2021, approximately 50 survivors receive shelter, legal aid, and economic support. The organization serves as a critical lifeline for those shunned by society and their families.
Malik, despite recently facing the acquittal of her own attackers after a 16-year legal battle, remains determined: “I fought for justice for myself. But now I’m fighting for other survivors. I want my case to be an example that perpetrators won’t walk free.”