Pramodini Roul was just 15 years old when a paramilitary soldier threw acid at her because she had rejected his marriage proposal. Following the attack April 9, 2009, she sustained severe burn injuries. Her face was disfigured. She also lost her vision and had to undergo a major surgery to have her sight restored. She was bedridden for at least seven years. When she stepped out of her house afterwards, she faced social stigma. People in her neighbourhood started avoiding her. They made her feel as if she were a ghost. She led a difficult life till she met Subhashree Das.
Subhashree met Pramodini in 2016 at a social gathering. “I found it hard to console Pramodini after hearing her plight. Besides, I was shocked to know that the accused were not arrested although she had filed a FIR with the police. I decided to reopen the case which was closed in 2012 due to lack of evidence. I took her to different platforms so that people would come to know of her plight and the government would provide compensation. After media highlighted the trauma Pramodini was undergoing, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met her and ordered compensation.”
Subhashree’s efforts yielded results and the case was reopened in 2017. The Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate issued a non-bailable warrant against the accused. The Tirtol police arrested the attacker and an accomplice. Indeed, Subhashree gave a new lease of life to Pramodini. Orissa POST recently talked to Subhashree who is campaigning for one of the most major issues today: gender equality.
“Cases of acid attack especially on women have shot up in recent years. In most of the incidents, the men involved are seeking revenge against women who refuse their advances or against wives who do not bring enough dowry. Moreover, when acid is used as a weapon on someone, it not only corrodes by eating away the skin and bones but destroys the survivor’s willpower to lead a normal life. We live in a world that expects women to look a certain way. Such an act is committed to distort the face, and subsequently, self-worth, with the motive of making a girl undesirable for other men. But the motive of the attackers is destroyed by people who choose to look beyond these scars. Pramodini is one of the brave acid attack survivors who did not let the scars come in the way of leading a happy life. I provided her the much-needed platforms to highlight her misery. And she did not retreat and fought the battle to lead a life with dignity. Thus, credit should be given to her,” she says.
Subhashree, who is married to Bikash Das, wanted to be in the field of social service from her childhood. “When I was in Class IX, one day I found a newborn baby dumped on a road leading to my school. People from my village as well as neighbouring villages rushed to the spot out of curiosity to see the abandoned child, but none came forward to adopt the child. When I visited the spot to know the fate of the child in the recess hour, I found him lying dead. This incident had a lasting impact on me. As I was a little girl then, I was completely helpless. But had someone from the crowd taken the newborn to hospital, doctors would have kept him alive.”
Hailing from Paradip, Subhashree at present runs two centres to help hapless women. “I made up my mind to take up the cause of women in our state after I witnessed several women trafficking incidents. After the super cyclone, many women came to the state capital in search of jobs. However, because of some unscrupulous elements inour society, they were forced into unethical trades. That apart, rising cases of domestic violence against women gave me a reason to fight for the cause of women.”
Apart from women, she also helps senior citizens get justice. “An elderly couple once approached me after their children forced them to leave their house. They were looking for a rented house when they came to know about me. Though they had four sons and four daughters, none wanted to keep their parents with them. This father of eight children was a government servant while his wife was a businesswoman. They had not saved a single buck for themselves because all they wished for is to see their children live happily. But when they were in need of care, their children showed little interest in looking after them. I called the sons and daughters-in-law to counsel them. After four days of counselling, they agreed to take their parents back and look after them. While leaving my office, the woman gave me chocolates saying, ‘You saved my family. God bless you.’”
Subhashree adds, “Gender discrimination exists within the family which is why the cases of atrocities against girls are rising. For example, a girl needs permission from the family to make a move in her career while boys are free to take their own decision and do whatever they want. People too have the misconception that if sons light the pyre, parents’ souls would get liberated after their deaths. So, we must change our mindset first. Due to the existing patriarchal mindset, a girl is hesitant to raise her voice against molestation and eve-teasing. That’s why, I request every girl to fight against wrong religious and socio-cultural practices. Everybody waits for somebody else to take the initiative. Girls have to take up the issue on their own.”
Madhyam
Madhyam, a project launched in 2012 to help women victims of mental and physical torture by their in-laws through women support centres, is Subhashree’s brainchild. Through Madhyam, she has been able to resolve many issues without registering a case and has also been successful in providing justice to the victims. Madhyam is run by the Institute for Social Development (ISD) with financial help from the Committee for Legal Assistance to Poor(CLAP). “Madhyam has been functioning as a counselling centre for women in collaboration with Commissionerate of Police. According to data presented by ISD in 2016, during the last four years, 1,784 cases were registered because of Madhyam out of which 1,666 women were survivors of domestic violence, 39 were cheated on the pretext of marriage, 47 approached for adultery by their husbands, 22 were victims of molestation and eve-teasing and eight of cybercrimes, and two women faced sexual harassment at the workplace. Apart from reconciliation in 1,140 cases, 27 were sent to shelter homes, 37 were provided medical help, and free legal aid was provided to 121 victims,” Subhashree says.
RASHMI REKHA DAS, OP