Uttar Pradesh Yogi Aditynath Singh government orders shut down of Sheroes Café of Lucknow, run by the acid attack survivors.
There are over 20 survivors whose relocation and rehabilitation fate hangs in uncertainty after this government assault. An order regarding vacating the café has been passed and despite all the brave efforts by the survivors’ team, they are given three days of time to vacate the Lucknow branch.
The government officials see no reason to run this café and hence given this excuse to them. The Sheroes project has received ‘Nari Shakti Award’ by the president of India and has also acknowledged globally for the uniqueness of bringing help to the acid attack survivors.
12 acid attack survivors of Sheroes Hangout café will be without a paycheck at a very little notice. At least two dozen more survivors along with their family pay the price and their treatment, training, legal help and counseling will be affected.
In an online petition by one of the survivors urgesfor help from the Yogi Adityanath Government and indicates towards the corruption prevalent at ‘Mahila Kalyan Nigam’ and Women and Children Department (WCD) for which these survivors are sacrificed.
A glance at the impact of Sheroes Café Hangout, Lucknow
- Networked and benefited more than 50 acid attack survivors to the project in terms of medical, financial and legal needs.
- Provided full-time jobs to 12 acid attack survivors, created the opportunity to employ up to 25 survivors to empower them financially.
- Hosted more than a 10K guest at Sheroes cafes and added around a million supporters to our campaign on social media with a pledge to Stop Acid Attacks.
- More than 50 documentaries have been shot on the Sheroes Model of rehabilitation which has brought the issue of acid violence in public debates.
- German First Lady Elke Büdenbender, Hollywood Actor Jason Isaacs, Miss Universe GB, actors such as Sanjay Dutt, Rajkumar Rao, Dia Mirja, Iulia Vantur, Swara Bhaskar, Divya Dutta, Zakir Khan, Shatrughan Sinha, and many other celebrities visited the project and extended their support
- The campaign received international recognition from the governments of the United States, Germany, and Spain and has been awarded by dozens of credible organizations.
- Indian of the Year awards by CNN-IBN & NDTV groups, Nari Shakti Award by President of India and uncountable other recognitions.
Despite these facts, Mahila Kalyan Nigam finds it worth shutting down that raises a valid question on their intentions.
