In honor of International Women’s Month, we are so excited to be releasing Season Three of Umuco Podcast Series, which will feature four amazing women in an effort to recognize their challenges as well as their achievements!! 

To kick-off the season, Monica Singh shared with us her inspiring story of strength as an acid attack survivor and how she plans to use her passion for fashion to help other survivors.

Monica spoke to us about what it is like being a survivor, particularly as one with scars that are outwardly visible to everyone she meets. She reflected, “The physical harm is also included on top of the psychological and mental harm. If somebody asks us what happened to us, we cannot hide because our face is giving it all away.” 

At the same time, Monica has gained a level of confidence, which we could all benefit from, as she no longer lets society impact her. Monica explained, “I'm not going to accept that society looks at me in a certain way, I'm not going to accept if you find me ugly. I'm not gonna accept if you think I'm ruining the fashion runway. I don't care. This is my life. I live my life on my own terms.”

But it took her some time to come to this point of self-acceptance, as she reflected on the difficulties of trying to reconcile who she was before and after the attack: “Everybody tells you to forget about yourself before and to find a new you in order to move on, but nobody's talking about how to bridge the gap between your past and your future. You cannot erase your entire life just like that, right? If I was a happy girl, if I was a fashion person, why would it have to change?”. She adds, “I believe in the reality and the practicality, and that's my message. Be true to yourself. Be honest to yourself and be in love with yourself and that's what's gonna come back to you.”

Singh hopes to provide resources to survivors of acid attacks, rape, and domestic violence through the Mahendra Singh Foundation, which she co-founded with her brother in 2015. She stated, “Making the world a better place is a collective responsibility, so I am gonna do my part. And then if everybody starts to do something on their own, then collectively the world becomes a better place.”

As you can see from this sneak-peak of our discussion with Monica, there is so much to learn from her story of survival and acceptance, so we hope you take the time to listen to her full story here