Monday, 12 August 2013

Our men throw acid in our faces, destroy our lives but we never stop loving men. by Taslima Nasreen

NOTE: the pictures on this article are very graphic and have been removed for this post, however I would advice all readers to go to the original source and look at them.

Accessed 12^th August 2013

http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima/2012/07/14/our-men-throw-acid-in-our-faces-destroy-our-lives-but-we-never-stop-loving-men/

Our men throw acid in our faces, destroy ourlives but we never stop loving men.

by Taslima Nasreen

Men throw acid on us with the intention of injuring or disfiguring us. Men throw acid on our bodies, burn our faces, smash our noses, melt our eyes, and walk away as happy men.
Acid attack is common in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Cambodia, and a few other countries. Men throw acid on us because men are angry with us for ending relationships and for refusing sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, proposals of marriage, demands for dowry. They throw acid on us for attending schools, for not wearing Islamic veils, for not behaving well, for speaking too much, for laughing loudly.
Cambodia
“What remains is a traumatized society in which domestic disputes, unhappy love affairs, and professional rivalries are nearly always resolved through violence. Hardly a family without its members lost to the ideological battles of the Khmer Rouge – a curse that is passed on from parents to children. Battery acid is known to be most uncomplicated way of causing lifelong suffering. A dollar will buy you a quart of acid on any street corner. The perpetrators are seldom punished. Their targets become outcasts.”
Pakistan
Ten years ago Shahnaz Bibi was burned with acid by a relative due to a familial dispute. She has never undergone plastic surgery. Najaf Sultana is now 16. At the age of five Najaf was burned by her father while she was sleeping. Her father didn’t want to have another girl in the family. Najaf became blind. Shameem Akhter (20) was kidnapped and raped by a gang of men who then threw acid on her 3 years ago. Kanwal Kayum, now 26, was burned with acid one year ago by a man whom she rejected for marriage. Bashiran Bibi was burned at her husband’s house just after her marriage. Nasreen Sharif was a beautiful girl. When she was 14, her cousin poured a bottle of sulphuric acid in her face. He did it because he couldn’t stand boys whistling at her when she crossed the street. Her skin melted away, her hair burned away. She is now blind, she has no ears and she has no sense of smell.
It is very easy for a man to get sulphuric acid if he wants to attack a woman he does not like. The country has become a hot spot for acid attacks. A disfigured woman is not able to get married or get a job. She becomes a financial and social burden on her family.
Akriti Rai, 22, was attacked by her husband, a Nepali soldier.
A man threw acid on a 13-year-old girl’s face to take a revenge. The older sister of the girl said: “You have to grow crocodile skin to clean the wounds of an acid survivor. The worst ordeal was while in the hospital, as the skin kept peeling off. I didn’t realize that the tongue skin was also peeling off. The young girl was pushing something in her mouth. I opened her mouth to see and found that almost the whole tongue had come off. I had to pull it out like you do with a cow and only a little red thing (tongue) remained.’
Twenty-one-year-old woman Kamilat Mehdi’s life was changed forever when a stalker threw sulphuric acid in her face. Ismail, Kamilat’s brother said: “The man who attacked her stalked her for a few years. He gave her a hard time but she didn’t tell the family for fear that something would happen to them. He was always saying he would use a gun on them.” Ultimately the stalker’s weapon of choice was not a gun, but a bottle of acid. He used it on Kamilat and destroyed her entire life in one second.
We are more abused, harassed, exploited, kidnapped, raped, trafficked, murdered by our lovers, husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, friends, or men we know well than by strangers. Whatever happens to us, we never stop loving men.

India

She was 18, a college student. Three of her neighbors sexually harassed her for more than two years and then threw acid on her. Her skin on the skull, face, neck, chest and back were melted away. After nine years of that attack Sonali Mukherjee is now blind in both eyes and partially deaf. Her father spent millions of rupees for her treatment. They have now no money. The attackers got bail from the High Court, continued threatening to kill her. She is now asking the government to help her or allow her to end her life.

The face of Sokreun Mean, who was blinded and disfigured by an acid attack.

Carsten Stormer, a German journalist & photographer said,

“Acid attacks deprive people of more than their looks and sight. Families are torn apart. Husbands leave their wives. Children are separated from their parents. Jobs vanish overnight, turning professionals into beggars. Many victims cannot get through a day without constant assistance, becoming burdens on their families. All bear the mark of the pariah.

Fakhra Younus was attacked by her husband Bilal Khar, ex-MPA of the Punjab Assembly and the son of Pakistani Politician Ghulam Mustafa Khar. He threw acid in her face after they split up. Tehmina Durrani, the author of ‘My Feudal Lord’, the former step mother of Bilal Khar tried to help Fakhra. She was sent to Italy for treatment. After having 39 re-constructive surgeries, Fakhra committed suicide.

The stories of the girls, from left to right:

Among others, there is Shaziya Abdulsattar, an eight-year-old girl. Shaziya’s father threw acid on her and her mother Azim last year after the mother refused to sell their two boys to a man in Dubai to use as camel racers.

Bangladesh

Neela was forced to marry when she was 12 years old. Her husband threw acid on her face when she was 14. He was angry with Neela because her family was unable to give him the dowry money he asked for.

Nepal

Iran

Ameneh Bahrami rejected the offer of having a relationship with Majid Movahedi, a fellow student at the University of Tehran. He then threw a bottle of acid in her face.

Zambia

Nitric acid, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid are today’s weapons of choice for criminals who hate women. These acids are easy to buy, easy to hide, easy to carry, and easy to throw. A person who witnessed many acid attacks , said, ‘in a less than a minute the bone under the skin can start to be exposed. If there is enough acid, the bone itself can become a soft mass of non-distinguishable jelly. Internal organs can dissolve. Fingers, noses and ears can melt away like chocolate on a hot day.’

Ethiopia

Her lover did it. Richard Remes threw sulphuric acid on Patricia Lefranc. Her nose and eyelids were melted away, she lost sight in one eye and hearing in one ear, she also lost a finger. She came close to death, as the corrosive substance nearly burned through her heart and lungs.The horrific attack physically and emotionally scarred her for life. What was her crime? She ended her relationship with Richard Remes, a married man.

How many acid attacks are there? By Tom de Castella BBC News Magazine - 9 August 2013

BBC website accessed 12^th August 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23631395

How many acidattacks are there?

9 August 2013 Last updated at 13:22

By Tom de Castella

BBC News Magazine

Katie Piper was attacked with acid in 2008 by a jealous boyfriend

The acid attack on two young British women in Zanzibar has cast a spotlight again on a sinister crime. How often do such assaults happen?

Anyone who throws acid in someone's face intends to scar them for life.

It is a crime with a marked gender skew. Experts say that women and girls are victims in 75-80% of cases. Of the female victims, about 30% are under 18.

The case of Kirstie Trup and Katie Gee, British tourists in Zanzibar, who had acid thrown on their faces, chests and hands, has caused revulsion.

The artistic director of Russia's Bolshoi Ballet was attacked in January. Now after 18 operations he is still almost completely blind, according to reports.

Another high profile case was that of Katie Piper, who in 2008 was the victim of an acid attack orchestrated by her jealous boyfriend. Since then she has had nearly 100 operations and become a campaigner.

NHS statistics for

England

do not separate out acid attacks. In 2011-12 there were 105 hospital admissions in

England

for "assault by corrosive substance", but the category covers more than just acid.

But 1,500 cases are recorded around the world every year, according to the Acid Survivors Trust International. "That is likely to be massively underreported," says Jaf Shah, ASTI executive director. "Most victims are fearful to report it to the police for fear of reprisal."

The lack of solid reported figures makes it hard to say whether acid attacks are on the rise globally, Shah says.

India

has an increasing problem with acid attacks. ASTI estimates that 1,000 take place there every year. Eight weeks ago the country's supreme court criticised the Indian government for failing to act on the problem.

Mohammad Jawad, a plastic surgeon who helped rebuild Katie Piper's face and works with victims in South Asia, says the crime is about trying to destroy someone's identity.

"The attacker is saying: 'I don't want to kill her, I am going to do something to distort her.' It's a walking dead situation for the victim and often a grey area in the eyes of the law."

It is not about religion or culture, he argues. "It takes place in parts of the world where women are not empowered. It's an extreme form of domestic violence."

Jawad says it is vital to treat acid burns fast.

"The first few hours are pretty important." In thermal burns the damage is done once the burn is inflicted. But with acid, the burning continues on the skin until the acid is neutralised.

Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup reportedly ran into the sea to wash the acid off their skin before it could do any permanent damage. Although there are bacteria in the sea, on balance this was a good decision, says Jawad.

Saltwater in the form of hypertonic saline (very salty saline) is used to neutralise the acid. Cleaning agents can suck the acid out of the tissue by a process of reverse osmosis, Jawad says.

Acid attacks appear to be disproportionately common in South Asia. As well as India, Shah suspects there are "very high" numbers in

Afghanistan

but there are no official figures. Bangladesh and Pakistan also have considerable numbers.

Shah says that unlike India, where there is no dedicated measuring of acid attacks, Pakistan and Bangladesh have made it a specific offence. The most common motives are rejected marriage proposals and sexual advances.

In Bangladesh, reported attacks have fallen since the government tightened up the rules on the sale of acid and introduced the death penalty for attackers. There were 492 attacks in 2002. Last year it was under 75, Shah says.

Pakistan

has also tightened up its laws. There are 250-300 recorded attacks there a year. Legislation in December 2011 has increased reporting by 300%, Shah says.

The prevalence of attacks in South Asia can be explained by the easy availability of acid, suggests Shah. Acid is widely used in the cotton, rubber and jewellery industries. Hence attacks are also seen in rubber-producing areas like Cambodia.

Acid can be sold for as little as a dollar or 50 cents a litre, says Jawad.

In the developing world acid attacks cause greater damage. Water might be hard to come by for someone seeking to wash away the acid. Burns units are few and far between. Shah recalls how in Nepal a woman had to walk "in absolute agony" for 24 hours before she could receive treatment.

The problem is not just South Asia. There have been notable attacks in Iran. There were 150 recorded attacks in Colombia last year. And recent reports suggest that attacks are on the rise in Italy.

Even where laws are tightened, convictions can be hard in male-dominated societies. In Pakistan, a woman died after an acid attackand left a mobile phone video message denouncing her attackers. But the suspects - her husband, mother-in law and father-in law - were acquitted.

It can take years for victims to recover, says Shah. They may need dozens of surgical procedures. Then there is the psychological trauma. "If victims have been ostracised from the family structure their exclusion is very severe."