Acid bath survivor now an entrepreneur

Memuna Malik, an acid bath survivor, is shattering societal stigma and barriers by defying the odds to establish two income-generating ventures.

She owns a jewellery shop and a saloon.

Memuna left Ghana for Saudi Arabia searching for greener pastures but returned with a disfigured face after she was attacked by another lady who poured a corrosive liquid on her face.

The 31-year-old lady has been through mockery and battled suicidal thoughts after the horrific experience.

However, after returning to Ghana, she strived to get back on her feet and is now an entrepreneur.

Memuna has her confidence back after a series of corrective plastic surgeries which are yet to be completed.

“I started a hairdressing salon before I left for my first surgery. Unfortunately, I lost them all when I returned, so I now make weave-on and sell jewellery that I get from Saudi Arabia,” she said.

Her Story

It was a day in December 2018 when Memuna, then 27-years-old, went to braid her hair at a house in Saudi Arabia, where she was based as a casual worker. 

Midway into the braiding, another woman, Salomey, stormed into the house with an acid intended for the hairdresser, Rabi.

The hairdresser and the woman were fighting over an apartment.

“While braiding my hair, Rabi took a break to eat. We heard a knock on her door while she was eating, and she asked me to assist her in opening it. As soon as I opened the door, I was pushed, and fluid was spilt on me. That was the end of my story,” she narrated.

Memuna was brought back to Ghana as she was of no use to her employers.

She has undergone an initial surgery to correct the disfigured face through the help from crime prevention advocacy organization, Crime Check Foundation and donors.

“Through the benevolence of your listeners, I am now a businesswoman, and I am pleading with them to patronize my business,” she told Crime Check Foundation in an interview.

She said she had now gotten used to stigma and was not bothered about the reaction from people who interacted with her.

“These days, I walk around my neighbourhood without covering my face. I look far better than I was, which I am grateful for because I knew God would intervene, but I didn’t know where the help would come from”.

“I am happy now,” she added.

Saudi authorities promised to arrest her attacker, but Memuna says she could not follow up on the case after being brought to Ghana.

Cautioning the youth desperate to flee the country due to hardships, Memuna said: “Had I known I would have stayed here in Ghana and started the saloon. Unfortunately for me, I came back with deformity and was broke”.

Memuna is scheduled for another surgery to lift her nose and eyes.