Motivatational Speaker | UN Women Youth Champion | Founder & President of Mahendra Singh Foundation
Talk about being a young girl with big dreams. Then think about being a girl and being a woman in a country like ours! Crazy, right?
Oh my love, and if you are one with ambition, you have no idea what you just invited! You invited sadistic, misogynistic and broken men and people who will do everything it takes to let you down, even if that means killing you. Sounds intimidating, doesn’t it?
And when you won’t know what to do in a situation like above, Monica Singh is one person you will find your answers in. It’s not just a name, it’s a story. It’s a battle and it’s power. A power so powerful, it will make you hate the world and love it at the same time.
In 2005, Monica was driving in Lucknow during her visit to her family after the completion of her first year of college. On her way back, she was stopped by a man who she had known for 6 years. When she rolled down the window of her car, two men riding on a bike threw a bucket of hot liquid on her face. Monica thought that it was hot coffee and tried to drive to the hospital, until her legs started to shake. A passerby saw her struggling in the car and took her to the nearest hospital, where it was revealed that the hot liquid was acid.
With Sixty-five percent of her body burned instantly, Monica with her life dramatically changing in front of her eyes, has undergone more than 40 surgeries ever since.
‘’This is not something that happens once and you forget or recover easily. Your face, your body limitations never let you forget. I am moving on, yes. But I will always remember every moment of that time”, she said.
A young, fun, happy and a beautiful girl like all us is what she is. What makes her different and extraordinary is her story, her battles, her courage.
She told me once, ‘’ Fashion and hope for a great life kept me alive on so many days when I wanted to give up’’. That hit me hard. It still resonates in my head every day. It reminds of the remarkable strength and passion that she has for her career, her life. And just when that sinks in, you realize how great and surreal a woman can be! Yes, god is a woman.
An event so unfortunate that it scarred her entire existence in a few minutes couldn’t stop Monica from achieving the life she deserved. She graduated from NIFT Delhi and further completed her post-graduation from Parsons School of Design, New York during her 10 year long battle and continuous surgeries. The role of her parents, especially her father who spent all his life savings on Monica’s surgeries and her brother were pivotal.
Years later the horrific incident, she still feels that acid attack survivors are looked down upon with pity and sympathy by the majority of people. On most of the days, she endures the trauma of living a life as a victim, as a survivor where she believes she is so much more than her scars, her body.
So tell me again, now when you know better. What should we do? Fight back and look them in the eyes, like Monica did? Yes, that’s what we do every time someone tries to hurt us. We stand up and fight and fight not just for ourselves but for other women like Monica did. Because today, when I look at Monica, I don’t see her scars. I see battles she fought which left an everlasting mark on her body.
Was that fair? Why was it easy for them to leave her to die? Was that required? A girl is not supposed to say no? A girl is not supposed to live her life on her own terms? When will this stop? Who will stop this? Why do we need to burn in the fire to prove our worth? How many more Monicas, Laxmis would it take for everyone to notice that the women,our women are burning?
This time, I leave it to you.
For all that’s worth and all I know, it takes a lot more than thousands of women together to be ONE Monica Singh. And if you ever get lucky with a meeting, just know she will be the most fun, fashionable and courageous person you will know. She lived through the burning hell, she burned in it for years but she hasn’t come this far to only come this far. She’s a reminder to me and us that this world is full of hatred and at the same time, full of courageous women who will make it better, one day.
The Girl with dreams and power in her heels!
Monica is currently working on her recent project #takethepowerback at Mahendra Singh Foundation which aims to provide the women who have been victimized and have been forced lablled as survivor to re-define themselves and help them achieve their life’s mission, which they desired to pursue before becoming a victim.
Until next time,
Yours,
Figura
Know more about her on
https://www.facebook.com/monicasingh
References:
@monicasinghofficial Instagram handle
@mahendrasinghfoundation Instagram handle
Barcroft USA, Allure
