You may remember Reshma Quereshi from the Make Love Not Scars campaign.
The campaign came from an Indian nonprofit that supports survivors of acid attacks, and I covered it for Upworthy in September.
Quereshi starred in one-minute, lighthearted, cheerful videos offering beauty tips just like any other makeup tutorial. Until, that is, she shared just how easy it is for would-be attackers to procure strong acid in India.
GIFS via Make Love Not Scars/YouTube.
Public Radio International traveled to Mumbai to catch up with Quereshi 18 months after the attack that changed her life.
Since her attack in the spring of 2014, Quereshi has been on a long, difficult road to recovery.
In May 2014, Quereshi was doused with sulphuric acid by her brother-in-law and a group of his friends after her sister decided to leave him. The first hospital she went to turned her away, telling her it was a police matter, not a medical one, a decision that probably cost Quereshi her left eye.
Image via Public Radio International/YouTube.
She underwent multiple skin grafts to repair her face and eye socket and still has many many surgeries to go.
"My head hurts. My scalp hurts. They've taken skin from all over my body to rebuild my face," Quereshi told PRI through a translator.
When she ventures outside, Quereshi feels each and every stare.
The gazes from strangers are cruel and biting. It is torture — much like the lingering pain she feels from the acid attack and subsequent procedures. This unwanted scrutiny and shame were simply insults added to injury.
Image via Public Radio International/YouTube.
But with the help of other survivors and the support of her family, Quereshi is speaking out.
Through her physician, Quereshi met a fellow acid-attack survivor who was in worse shape than she was.
"I look at this girl and looking at her pain and her situation actually took me outside of myself for the first time," she said.
An estimated 1500 acid attacks are recorded each year and 349 in India alone.
There are thousands of women just like Quereshi who are left with physical and emotional scars from these cruel, painful crimes. Many don't leave home, hiding out inside, away from unwanted attention. Meanwhile, perpetrators of acid attacks often go unpunished.
Image via Public Radio International/YouTube.
Though she was hesitant about her appearance, the injustice was too much to bear, and Quereshi decided to speak out.
"These boys, they look at a pretty face and they can't have it, and they throw acid in her face, and they spoil an entire life. And the ones who did this are running around free. [While] we're the ones confined to a room."
Since they debuted, Quereshi's videos garnered over 1.8 million views! And the petition to limit the sale of sulphuric acid in India now boasts more than 273,000 signatures. It's forward momentum, and Quereshi is leading the way.
She's come a long way since the brutal attack, and she looks forward to helping other survivors.
She still gets stares when she leaves her home. But Quereshi's not going to let that stop her from making a difference.
She hopes to continue to be a voice for survivors. The incident forced her to reevaluate what strength and beauty really mean. It's a challenge for anyone in that situation, especially a teenager.
But Quereshi is assertive and she carries herself with a grace and poise generally reserved for someone much older than her 18 years, telling PRI:
"What matters is what's on the inside. What matters is your heart. If you're heart's clean, your face will reflect it in a different way."
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.