It has been widely documented that the women in Pakistan have been a target of acid crimes for multiple reasons.....
women
It has been widely documented that the women in Pakistan have been a target of acid crimes for multiple reasons. Often these attacks are the barbaric continuation of less severe, but by no means acceptable, forms of domestic abuse perpetrated against women. Women suffer acid crimes for merely rejecting a marriage proposal, arousing some sort of jealousy among relatives or because they ‘tainted’ their honour and their families’. In any case, these crimes are based on the notion that a male member owns the women’s body and has control over her actions, especially in conservative communities. Therefore, unfortunately, this heinous crime in reality is more often than not committed by male relatives.
Quoting data from Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) in 2015, it states that 65 per cent of the acid and burn victims were women and girls, 15 per cent were children and the prosecution rate in such cases was a mere 35 per cent. It also said that most of the acid attacks in Punjab were concentrated in South Punjab including Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur. While most of these attacks are reported from rural areas, urban areas are not immune to such crimes.
According to news reports, last year, a man threw a bottle of acid on his wife during a quarrel in Talha Town, Karachi. In another news report, two girls were injured in an acid attack while they were sleeping; and in the same month, a man threw acid on his wife who not only injured her but also the niece who tried to rescue her. Twenty-three-year-old Mehwish in Gujrat suffered serious burn injuries when her cousin sprayed acid on her face and body. Twenty-five-year-old in Sialkot, Asma Yaqoob, a Pakistani Christian woman, was doused with acid and set on fire for refusing a Muslim man.
Among these victims, there is also Sana Naz, a young girl from Karachi, who was severely burnt after a man threw acid on her face and body due to a grudge in 2016. Sana registered with Depilex Smileagain Foundation (DSF) - the organisation is a support and assistance group for women who are victims of domestic violence with special emphasis in the area of deliberate acid and kerosene burning. They arranged several surgeries for her and also trained her as a beautician, currently employed at Depilex Beauty Clinic in Karachi. Fortunately for Sana, she filed the FIR against the said man and on February 13, 2019, the man was apprehended for his crimes. The legal decision came under sections 324/34 336-B PPC, for which the criminal is sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and he is further directed to pay PKR 500,000 as compensation to the victim.
“This victory for Sana is a very good news to come in March, which is a month where the entire world raises their voice to honour women who have shaped history and to ending discrimination against women and girls,” said Masarrat Misbah, the founder of DSF. “This victory is a historic milestone for acid crime in Pakistan, and with the ongoing movement supporting women against harassment and mistreatment. We are so proud of Sana, who not only rose above the incident but legally fought the victim and came out successful, paving way for many others. I am ever so grateful to Amrit Shardah and advocate Mumtaz Ali Shah from Dastageer Legal Aid Center for taking up this task and to the doctors who have been a part of Sana’s journey,” she added.
While Sana received justice, there are many who seek it. The National Assembly of Pakistan has passed the ‘Acid and Burn Crime Bill, 2017’ last year which is to support the victims and bring to justice the culprits at the earliest. The bill specifically criminalises acid and burn related violence by providing fair and speedy trial of such heinous offences. And as per amendments, whoever commits or attempts to commit an offence of acid or burn attack and act resulted in death of any person shall be awarded life imprisonment. Moreover, it says that whoever intentionally causing hurt by acid and burn attack shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for not more than seven years.
