Sheroes Hangout Café

From the fort, we went to Sheroes Hangout Café for lunch. This is a cafe and community, set up by the Chhanv Foundation, supported by Intrepid, and run by survivors of acid attacks. The aim is to increase awareness of acid attacks and empower acid attack survivors. The cafe staff are survivors, and all profits are used for the rehabilitation and treatment of all their fellow survivors. Survivors are also offered classes that focus on basic skills, crafts, and English conversation. There are currently three cafe locations in Delhi, Agra and Lucknow.

The atmosphere in the café is happy and uplifting. They serve a set menu lunch of sandwiches, fries, assorted pakora, aloo stuffed paratha, pickles, and curd, and invite customers to pay what they think it's worth. After we'd eaten, we watched a very moving video featuring survivors of acid attacks. Nearly all of them had been attacked by a family member - husband, brother, father, mother, or cousin. Their stories were horrific. How can anyone do that to another human being? The Sheroes name is something of a misnomer as 25% of victims of acid attacks are male, and they are helped by the charity, too. Some of us bought craft items made by victims to further help the cause. Through campaigns run by the charity, there are now much more severe punishments for those found guilty of committing acid attacks, and the sale of acid used has been banned.

Back at the hotel, Meriy was just leaving for Delhi, so we had a group photo.Read more