It’s lunchtime when I step from Agra’s busy streets into a quieter side alley. A bright blue banner stretches across the building in front of me, identifying Sheroes Hangout, the café I’ve been looking for. As I climb the steps and push open the door, stepping into the cafe’s cool interior, the midday heat fades. My eyes adjust slowly, taking in vivid murals and shelves filled with colorful handicrafts. A young woman with tinted lipstick and an easy grace introduces herself as Dolly. Her shirt reads, “My Beauty Is My Smile,” and it’s true. Her smile is stunning.
A decade ago, Dolly arrived here for the first time. She had covered her face so only her eyes visible, hiding her scars from the world. Having read about the world’s first café staffed by acid attack survivors, she was curious to see it for herself. There, she met one of the café’s founders who gently asked why she hid her face. “Those who have hurt you—they should have to cover their faces in shame,” he told her.
The stigma around acid attacks is still heavy in India. According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, about 200 attacks are reported annually, and 75 to 80 percent of victims are women. According to Ashish Shukla, cofounder of the café, motives range from being rejected by a love interest to revenge or even property-related disagreements.
When Dolly visited in 2015, Sheroes Hangout had been open only a few months. For years, India had no dedicated laws addressing acid violence, leaving survivors isolated and facing overwhelming physical, emotional, and economic challenges. Shukla and fellow activist Alok Dixit didn’t just want to raise awareness. They wanted to create a place for survivors to find community, employment, and empowerment. What started as a campaign to educate people on acid attacks developed into the Chhanv Foundation, the nonprofit behind Sheroes Hangout dedicated to advocating for acid attack survivors. Since its founding, the group has influenced policy reform, including stricter regulations on acid sales, mandated survivor compensations, and even the classification of acid attacks as a specific crime punishable by prison time.
The café is spacious, with handicrafts like Christmas decorations, wooden elephant carvings, textiles, and tote bags with the Sheroes slogan, “My Beauty, My Smile,” for sale. Some of the crafts are made by acid attack survivors, and others are created by local partners featuring the bold geometric patterns of the Northern Indian Madhubani-style art. Murals in blues, pinks, and yellows are painted on the walls, while photographs and artwork hang from them. The café is filled with visitors when I sit down, and the women shuttle back and forth between the kitchen and the tables with food and drinks.
Every half hour or so, the lights dim and a documentary plays on the TV. The video introduces a range of women, from those attacked as infants to those attacked as adults, targeted by both family members and strangers. Story after story unfolds, with each survivor sharing their experiences, passions, and hopes for the future.
Sheroes Hangout began with five survivors in Agra and has since expanded to locations in Lucknow and Noida.
Courtesy Intrepid Travel/Nicola Bailey
Visitors can learn about the organization by sitting and watching or by reading one of the many pamphlets displayed around the café. Some travelers mingle with the women for extended conversations, learning about their lives and resilience firsthand, creating connections that can be the most meaningful part of visiting Agra. The mood during my stop is somber, but it doesn’t stay that way. One of the café workers brings out a birthday cake, and a tour group begins to sing “Happy Birthday” to their team leader. The tension breaks, and conversations continue over food.
The menu spans traditional Indian dishes and international comfort foods: steaming cups of chai; the garlicky eggplant dish baingan bharta, rich with smoky flavor; jeera aloo, potatoes tossed with toasted cumin seeds; butter-soft chapatis with creamy daal; as well as pastas, burgers, and Maggi noodles. Absent, however, are prices. The café operates on a pay-what-you-can model.
Sheroes Hangout began with five survivors in Agra and has since expanded to locations in Lucknow and Noida, now employing 35 acid attack survivors across all three branches. Beyond employment, Chhanv Foundation has funded reconstructive surgeries and medical treatments, provided safe housing through Sheroes Home, offered legal aid to survivors seeking justice, and implemented skill development programs that lead to financial independence.
Looking ahead, Shukla says that there is still much work to be done. He envisions bringing Sheroes to Delhi, where the group can expand its advocacy work. He also wants to establish more comprehensive training programs so the women have career opportunities beyond Sheroes Hangout.
While these plans take shape, the café’s current success relies heavily on visitors. Intrepid Travel, a certified B Corp travel company, has been bringing tours to Sheroes Hangout since 2019. Their tour groups have contributed 45 percent of the cafe’s business in Agra. In 2024 alone, more than 134 Intrepid trips introduced more than 1,260 travelers to the café. Other travel companies, such as G Adventures and Collette Tours, have also started adding the café to their itineraries.
For Dolly, now 25, the journey to Sheroes has been transformative. At 13, she was attacked by a 35-year-old predator. She stayed in her house for the next two years, certain that society would reject her changed appearance. At Sheroes, surrounded by women who have suffered similarly or worse—some who had lost their eyesight or faced rejection by their families—Dolly found community and strength.
While the organization has expanded, Dolly has been busy as well. She received her high-school diploma and got married, and now she’s the assistant floor manager of the café. She says her story began in sadness but ended in happiness. Her dream was to build her own home, and this year she purchased the land to begin the process.
Sheroes Hangout is a 10-minute drive from the Taj Mahal on Fatehabad Road, near TDI Mall. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., the café welcomes visitors without reservations.
