In a departure from newsroom archetypes, Sneha Jawale, a domestic violence and burn injury survivor, will now present exclusive explainer videos for the BBC as its new guest presenter.

Jawale’s first show was on BBC Marathi on May 22.

On December 12 last year, the media house had covered Jawale’s struggles as a domestic violence and burn survivor in a video report.

Jawale’s husband had set her on fire with kerosene in December 2000, after her parents couldn’t fulfill his demand for more dowry. Though she survived, she said she was abandoned by her family and separated from her four-year-old son.  

Struggling to find a job because of the burn scars on her face and body, Javale eventually took up tarot card reading. Her life took a turn when she became a part of a widely acclaimed play, Nirbhaya, in 2013. Directed by Yael Farber, it narrated the ghastly 2012 Delhi gangrape, along with other stories of abuse suffered by women. At least five of the seven cast members, including Jawale, enacted scenes from their own lives. 

After 300 stagings of Nirbhaya across the world, Jawale will now bring much-needed diversity and inclusion to the media landscape.