While perusing the internets, I ran across a fascinating story about burn victims in Pakistan becoming beauticians -- a story worthy of Tonic's Hero of the Week. Saira Liaqat and Urooj Akbar are among Pakistan's many female victims of arson and acid attacks and in spite of their own setbacks have established themselves as living proof that beauty lies within. Masarrat Misbah has shone like a true hero and helped both women get where they are. While they are surrounded by photos of models and style the glamourous, they exude their own beauty. Liaqat, 21, says "Every person wishes that he or she is beautiful. But, in my view, your face is not everything. Real beauty lies inside a person, not outside." Five years ago, Misbah, head of Pakistan's well-known Depilex salon chain, was leaving work when a veiled woman approached and asked for help. When she moved her veil, Misbah was shocked to see she had no face. The woman said her husband had thrown acid on her. Misbah contacted Smileagain, an Italian non-profit that provides assistance to burn victims, and got medical treatment for Liaqat and Akbar. In 2007, at least 33 women were burned in acid attacks and 45 were set on fire but many cases go unreported. Through her foundation, Depilex-Smileagain Foundation, Misbah has personally helped countless women get burn treatment over the past several years. Misbah has also arranged for 10 women to train in a beauty course, including Liaqat and Akbar. Since these burn victims may require up to 30 surgeries, work and an income is critical. "Mentally, I am at peace with myself," Akbar says. "The peace of mind I have now, I never had before. I suffered much more mental anguish in my married life." Akbar plans to use her income to support a little-seen daughter. "I'm independent now," she says. "I stand on my own two feet. I have a job. I work, I earn. In fact, I'm living on my own..which isn't an easy thing to do for a woman in Pakistan." Thanks to Masarrat Misbah, these women are defying the odds and doing good -- which makes Misbah a perfect hero of the week. Source: Associated Press. Photo: Saira Liaqat, 26, puts make up on a client at the Depilex beauty center in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, June 26, 2008. When she was 15, Saira was married to the relative who would later attack her after insistently demanding her to live with him, although the families had agreed she wouldn't join him until she finished school. Saira has undergone plastic surgery 9 times to try to recover from her scars with the help of Depilex-Smileagain Foundation in Lahore, an organization that helps burn victims to reintegrate into society through medical and psychological support. Saira is one of the 240 registered victims of Smileagain's help list in Pakistan and is employed as a beautician at a Depilex beauty center. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) Every week, we at Tonic News identify someone out in our huge world doing good and making a difference. We like to think that we all can be heroes and want the stories of these awesome people to inspire you. If you have nominations for our Tonic Generation’s Hero of the Week, please email Dan at dan[at]tonic.com.
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