Sparkling in shades of green, pink and peach, Indian women survivors of acid attacks walked the ramp at a fashion show to boost awareness about violence against women.
Scarred faces held high, 11 members of a non-profit group showcased colorful Indian and Western garments, spoke about confidence and posed for photographs on Wednesday, a day ahead of International Women’s Day.
Laxmi, attacked in 2005 at the age of 15 by a 32-year-old man whose marriage proposal she rejected, was the showstopper of the event, held near India’s financial capital of Mumbai.
Photo: EPA
照片:歐新社
“I swept aside notions about the face, which society spoke of, and moved forward in life,” said Laxmi, whose plea against acid attacks prompted India’s Supreme Court to order regulations on the sale of acid in 2013.
“We don’t want respect, we want equality.”
More than two-thirds of the 1,500 acid attacks worldwide each year are estimated to take place in India, many by enraged family members or jilted partners.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
Few victims report the attacks, for fear of reprisals by abusers, even though the resulting disfigurement often brings isolation and rejection.
“What others think about us does not have relevance, what we think about ourselves is only what matters,” said one participant, Deepmala Tiwary, an attack survivor and member of the nonprofit Acid Survivors and Women Welfare Foundation.
(Reuters)
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
曾遭到潑酸攻擊而倖存的多位印度女性,身上閃耀著綠色、粉紅色、桃紅色的鮮豔光澤,自信地走在時裝秀的舞台上,希望藉此提升人們對於女性遭受暴力的意識。
週三來自某個非營利組織的十一位女性,高高抬起留有疤痕的臉龐,身上展示著色彩斑斕的印度與西方服飾,在國際婦女節的前一天講述著她們的自信,並且大方地擺出姿勢,讓鏡頭捕捉她們的風采。
在這場於印度金融中心孟買附近舉行的時裝秀上,拉瑟米是整場活動的目光焦點。二○○五年,當時年僅十五歲的拉瑟米,遭到一位三十二歲的男子潑灑強酸,只因為她拒絕了男子的求婚。
「社會大眾談論著我受傷的面容,而我則決定將這些想法掃到一旁,繼續向前邁進」,拉瑟米如是說。她曾經發起請願,起身反抗潑酸攻擊,促使印度最高法院於二○一三年下令嚴格控管酸性溶液的販售。
「我們不想要藉此獲得尊敬,我們要的是平等。」
每年有一千五百多件的潑酸攻擊在世界上發生,其中三分之二的案例估計是發生在印度,而且許多攻擊來自於憤怒的家庭成員或是遭到拋棄的另一半。
儘管因此導致毀容,而使日後生活經常伴隨著孤立與遭受排斥,潑酸攻擊的受害者卻因為害怕遭到加害者報復,只有非常少的人會選擇報案。
蒂普瑪拉‧提娃莉這位遭到潑酸攻擊的倖存者,是非營利組織「潑酸攻擊倖存者暨女性福利基金會」的成員,也是這場時裝秀的參加者之一。她表示:「其他人怎麼想,跟我們一點關係也沒有。對我們而言,真正重要的是我們如何看待自己。」
(台北時報章厚明譯)
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