India's raped comic 'super hero' returns to fight acid attacks

Priya, the hugely popular female rape survivor-turned comic book "super hero", is back in a new role - this time she's fighting acid attacks.

Priya's Shakti, the first book about the character, was launched two years ago. Inspired by Hindu mythological tales, it told the story of Priya, a young gang rape survivor, who fought against sexual violence in India.

The new comic - Priya's Mirror - focuses attention on acid attacks in India and around the world.

It features stories of acid attack survivors from New York City, Bogota, and Delhi, Indian-American filmmaker Ram Devineni, one of its creators, told the BBC.

"The reason I chose this subject is because there's a clear co-relation between rape and acid attacks. The patriarchy, the social stigma and the attitude towards victims are the same in both. In fact, I think the lack of empathy for acid attack survivors is ten times more because their scars are visible," he says.

Thousands of women in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Colombia and Africa are scarred for life in acid attacks every year and the perpetrators are almost always men, driven by an urge for revenge, mostly over unrequited love.

Acid, Mr Devineni says, is a "more dangerous weapon" than most others because it's a "very deceptive" weapon.

"It's a clear liquid which looks non-threatening and it's so easy to get that even the perpetrators sometimes don't realise the havoc it can wreak on the victims."

The 36-page comic will be unveiled at the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center later in the week (from 30 September to 6 October). It will be available in five languages - English, Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian - and can be downloaded free from their website.