Resham Fatma is a fantastic example of human endeavour and grit and the power of education. Now a Chevening Scholar for the academic term, Fatma is the first acid attack survivor from India to receive the fully funded international scholarship from the UK government. She will be pursuing an MSc in Gender, Development and Globalisation at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). This is not only a great achievement for her but also serves as a beacon of hope for young women in the world who come through hardships and dream beyond societal limits.
Born in Jamshedpur and raised in Ranchi, Fatma’s life changed a decade ago in February 2014 at the age of 17. As a child living with her grandparents in Lucknow in Class 11, she was the target of a horrific acid attack from a maternal cousin who was two decades older than her and whom she had rejected a marriage proposal. He waylaid her and tried to take her home from coaching classes, poured acid on her head, and threatened her with a knife. Fatma fought back, escaped, and sought help when people were initially indifferent to her and refused to help.
The tragedy started a long battle for her physical welfare, psychological trauma, medical services, and social isolation in the wake of the tragedy. But not wanting to let the terrible event dictate her life, she studied mostly from home and was able to get 87 percent marks in the science stream in her Class 12 board exams. Her courage and stubbornness, along with her refusal to submit to circumstances, were recognised in 2015 when she became the recipient of the Bharat Award (the highest national bravery award for children) during the Republic Day celebrations in the presence of the then-President of India.
Fatma continued her studies and worked hard, earning a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Physics (Honours) from Jamia Millia Islamia in 2018. Although she was initially going to go into civil services, she also chose to study international affairs, completing a master’s degree in Politics and International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Deeply conscious of the socio-economic realities faced by marginalized communities, she founded the Ebrah Foundation in 2023 while studying at JNU. The Ebrah Foundation is dedicated to mentoring young Muslim women and is a platform to educate them in education, career preparation, and financial independence.
The journey to international academia was further encouraged when she married her husband Asghar in 2024, who supported her in pursuing the competitive Chevening Scholarship. Fatma has always maintained that the trauma of her past is not the key to her future, but that the past is something she can’t forget as long as she is in her life. She has also made herself a model of how to get into the London School of Economics and how to turn the barriers she faced that were so difficult and painful into stepping stones for monumental success.
