Shipra Sun City: Play against acid attacks marks the day

Women of Shipra Sun City gave a powerful message through their eight-minute on-stage performance on Tuesday marking the occasion of Vijaya Dashmi. They enacted the saga of survival of a famous acid attack victim, Laxmi Agarwal.

Rati Gupta, who directed the show and played the role of Laxmi, said the purpose behind showing the struggle of Laxmi was to send out a message of victory of good over evil.

"Laxmi fought the stigma attached to her as an acid attack victim and eventually proved that any incident such as this won't determine the fate of a woman. Her struggle has become a source of inspiration for thousands of women who have gone through the same ordeal," she said.

She further said that teenage girls sitting in the crowd were especially impressed by the play and approached the artists to inquire more about Laxmi. "They also told us that they would learn self-defense techniques to use when faced any such situation."

Laxmi Agarwal is a campaigner of Stop Sale Acid, an NGO, and an acid attack survivor herself. She speaks for the rights of acid attack victims.

She was attacked in 2005, at age 15, by a 32-year-old Gudda and his accomplice Nadeem Syed for rejecting their advances. She has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking curbs on sale of acid. Her petition impressed upon the apex court to order the Central and state governments to regulate the sale of acid, and Parliament to enact laws that make prosecution against the attackers easier to pursue.

A movie is being made with Deepika Padukone in lead role based on her journey as an acid attack survivor.