New Delhi: Social activist Laxmi, who was disfigured beyond recognition in a terrible acid attack, has had a child with her partner, a fellow social activist who works for the welfare of acid attack victims. Twenty-six-year-old Laxmi’s seven-month-old daughter Pihu will have a single name like her mother.
For somebody who has been confronted with stares and often with hostility whenever she appeared in public, finding love and a soulmate seemed to be a hopeless task right up to the time until she met 28-year-old Aloke Dixit with whom she now runs the Stop Acid Attack Campaign.
Laxmi was attacked with acid in 2005 in a busy marketplace when she was only 16-year-old by a man more than twice her age, whose advances she had rejected.
The couple, who have been living in together, said they wanted some time to introduce their baby to the world. “For the initial 6 to 7 months, we needed time for the baby and also for us. We wanted to relax. Also, because of our busy schedule we were not able to bring Pihu in front of the world. But we finally thought of introducing her to others.”
Dixit says the decision to not get married was mutual and as also the decision to not introduce their child in public immediately after her birth.
“Laxmi had also gone through a lot of tragedies. She had lost her father and her younger brother very recently. So we did not want people to bombard her with questions and that’s why we kept quiet,” he said.
Stating that he does not believe in the institution of marriage, Dixit said the couple does not intend to get married and would continue with their relationship like earlier. “We do not intend to get married because I do not believe in the institution of marriage. I believe that two people do not need a certificate to remain together in the society. So in the beginning itself we had decided that we are not getting married and would stay together in a live-in relationship.”
Born in March, Pihu accompanies her mother everywhere and spends most of her time at the NGO Chaanv, the office of the Stop Acid Attack.
“Pihu does not have a surname, neither would she have one. We encountered a few problems while making the birth certificate, but ultimately it has the name of both the mother and father because both of us are together,” said Laxmi.
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