A group of acid attack survivors presented a dance drama to raise awareness about acid attacks, their plight, and how hard they have to work to turn their lives around.

Six women who have been victims of acid attacks, including two who lost their eyesight, enacted their life’s struggles and their will to make a comeback.

It is not easy to be accepted because at times family members “shudder” at their sight, one of the women who participated in the production, said.

Shahnara Khatoon Sheikh, 36, was attacked by her extended family members while she was sleeping. She lost the eyesight of her left eye as the acid was thrown on her head.

The woman underwent surgeries and now does tailoring work to earn a living.

“When these women are up on stage the people who see them can understand the impact of acid attack in real life. They show a mirror to the society where acid is freely available and many among us do not realise the extent of damage it can cause to innocent lives,” said Aparajita Bose, unit head, Brave Souls Foundation, Calcutta.

The organisation works with acid attack survivors for their education, health, surgeries, litigation and employment.

Bose said such stage production boosts their confidence to face an audience instead of shying away from people.

“There was a time when I would be scared to see myself in the mirror because of the marks but gradually that went away. There would be people in the audience who would shudder at the sight of us but perhaps they would understand our struggle and spare a thought about us,” said another victim Kakoli Das.

Yoddha is an hour-long production by the Jadavpur Mudra Cultural Trope that celebrated 35 years with this production in Rabindra Sadan on Sunday.

It is the story of a girl found on the roadside by a couple. The man is stabbed by traffickers from whom he saves the girl and his wife brings her up by herself.

The girl grows up to be a successful dancer but ultimately becomes an acid attack victim when she tries to uncover a racket of traffickers.

It was then that other acid attack survivors, inspire her to turn her life around instead of losing the battle to acid and public shame.

The dance drama sent out messages against trafficking and forced prostitution — both crimes against women. The production had 35 artists on stage. “We have had people congratulating us because we gave a platform to acid attack victims. They told us that it made a deeper impact something that only play-acting would not have been able to achieve,” said Mousumi Bhattacharya, a member of the cultural troupe and the narrator in the dance drama.

“We are not just raising awareness but with every show, the women get a remuneration,” said Bhattacharya.