This is the inspirational moment an Indian model left terribly scarred in an acid attack strutted down the runway at New York Fashion Week .
Courageous
Reshma Quereshi, 19, walked down the catwalk to promote a ban on the
sale of corrosive substances used to maim thousands of women and
children each year.
Reshma opened the FTL Moda show today to
applause in a stunning long-sleeved, white gown with embroidered
appliques by Indian designer Archana Kochhar during her first trip to
the United States.
The buzz and glamour of the event was a world
away from Allahbad, India, where she suffered severe facial burns and
lost an eye two years ago after being attacked with sulfuric acid by her
estranged brother-in-law and two men.
After enduring numerous skin graft surgeries and contemplating suicide , she met the founder of Make Love Not Scars, a group that helps survivors of the gender-based crimes.
Quereshi
is the face of the group's online video campaign, which has been viewed
by 1.3 million people and led to her appearance in New York.
"I couldn't believe it was happening to me," Quereshi said about the trip through a translator.
"In that moment I felt extremely happy."
She said she hopes
her turn on the catwalk will inspire hope and confidence in other acid
attack survivors and spur countries to regulate the sale of cheap and
easily available acids.
"No one else understands what an acid
attack is except the survivors themselves," she said. "I do not want
this to happen to anyone else."
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