Acid Throwing on Girls and Boys in Pakistan
By Amna Gilani • Apr 22nd, 2008 • Category: Misc, Worth A Second Look • (5,314 views) • 20 CommentsHatred makes a human an animal and hatred compels a human to inflict any kind of horror on the fellow human being. The easy and affordable nature of acid has made it the mostly used weapon of revenge. Husbands use it to punish their wives, boys use it to punish their defected girl friends or boy friends, and people use it to punish their enemies by throw and run.
Women are the mostly suffered victims of acid attack, especially in the rural areas. I recently visited a village near Sialkot to attend a marriage ceremony and came across a lady with horribly burnt face, neck and arms. Her story is gut-wrenching, gory and ghastly. She is a typical embodiment of the cruelty of the humans.
Razia Bibi was happily married with Bakhshish. Bakhshish was in the army and used to visit his house only once a month. One day last year, he was away at his duty, and Razia was alone at home with her “Daywer” (brother of Bakhshish), Aziz, and the mother of Bakhshish was out to market. Aziz came to his Razia and tried to seduce her. Razia protested and tried to get away, but wasn’t able to break the strong hold of Aziz. Aziz forcefully undressed Razia and started to grope her. The nude Razia was weeping and pleading with Aziz to leave her, then she broke away from Aziz and ran out of room. When she came out of room, Bakhshish mother entered the house and saw Razia nude. Bakhshish mother, without second thoughts started raising hell and Aziz came out after two minutes and feigned shock and surprise over her mother’s noise and over the nudity of Razia.
Razia went back in utter despair and pain, clothed herself and started convincing the ultra-angry mother of Bakhshish about her innocence. Then Bakhshish mother and Aziz tied Razia up and threw acid on her and threw her at her parent’s house, who rushed her to the hospital. It took Razia 6 hours to reach hospital after being thrown acid. She was divorced by Bakhshish and Aziz was on bail soon after he was arrested.
One of my very fast friend, Palwashay lives in Mardan and she told me a fresh incident in her neighbours, where a boy of 15 was the victim. It’s a common thing in the NWFP region (and some of the Punjabi regions) that males keep a boy as a friend. They often have a sexual relationship with the boy and they take care of that boy more than their families and everything else. But if the boy tries to defect or try to leave them, they just go mad and either kill the boy or maim him or throw acid on him.
Same was happened to Absar of Mardan. He became friend of Gul Agha who was of age 46 and used to be with him all the time. Another man Pari Gul of age 35 often tried to cajol Absar to leave Gul Agha and accept his friendship. At last Absar left Gul Agha and made nexus with Pari Gul. Gul Agha first tried to convince Absar to come back and upon his refusal threw acid on Absar and now Absar is in the hospital in a very critical condition. He is dying slowly and painfully.
There is no clear legislation for this crime and the perpetrators often get bail the next day when they are arrested. We as a society need to work together to eradicate this horrendous crime. What in the hell these NGOs are doing and what in the hell all these organizations of human rights are doing?
Last 5 posts by Amna Gilani
- Doped Mohammad Asif - July 14th, 2008
- Internet Sex in Pakistan - June 29th, 2008
- Homeopathic Doctors of Pakistan - June 22nd, 2008
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- Mobile Phone Sex with Girls Mania in Pakistan - June 6th, 2008
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April 22nd, 2008
Amna Gilani wrote ” It’s a common thing in the NWFP region (and some of the Punjabi regions) that males keep a boy as a friend. They often have a sexual relationship with the boy and they take care of that boy more than their families and everything else.”
Totally disgusting but very true.
April 22nd, 2008
I had written this poem “Sulphuric Acid” to highlight this evil that exists in our society few years ago while sitting in a plane and reading a story just like that.
They had faces but all gone,
the whole thing was so insane.
Now she creeps in slowly to
see her reflection in the rain..
They had dreams but all gone,
the whole thing was so insane.
Now she is alone in her room
to catch her shawdows in vain.
They learnt to love but all gone
The whole thing was so insane.
Now she stands by her painting
being eaten away by this pain.
They used to speak but all gone
The whole thing was so insane
Now she hears voices around her
not to say a word and learn to refrain
They had a life but it is all gone
The whole thing was so insane
But she could not learn to forgive
her murderer, asleep in his grave.
April 22nd, 2008
Dear amna ,its interesting that your selection of topics are in a real sense ,the expression of social issues that are existing and surviving without the element of attention and consideration because of the deliberate negligence of the society ,
choosen topic has both the element of social and medical problem.
If i speak liberally ,all such social activities that creates catastrophe physically on the victim infact becomes the ultimate responsibility of the physician or surgeon so to place the indivisual again in to the system.
extensive expanding nature of crime has taken over the system due to easily available modes,instrument and escapes.
threatening the victim to indulge in to the desire and motive is a menace that has created the offence in to different ideas but with same theme of lust and perversion.
although the discussion if i donot curtail deliberately will create a landscape of reservation favouring the victim and anchoring the crime and culprit.however ,it will be unfair to grace and appreciate your master piece of work to highlight such issues.
Vitriolage in medical terminology is the deliberate splashing of a person or object with acid, also known as vitriol, in order to deface or kill.
A female who engages in such an act is known as a vitrioleuse.
There are instances of this act throughout history and in modern times, often in places where honor killings are also common.
Under the Qisas law of Pakistan, the perpetrator must suffer the same fate as the victim, and may be punished by having drops of acid placed in his or her eyes.
Acid attacks are a violent phenomenon that primarily occur in parts of certain South Asian countries and are often perpetrated by males against females.
There are also an increasing number of females perpatrating their actions on males.
Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims, burning them.
The consequences are multiple: permanent marks on the body, disfiguration and potentially blindness.
The chemical agent used to commit these attacks is either hydrochloric acid, widely available in South Asian countries as a toilet cleaner or sulphuric acid from batteries.
Because the chemical causes severe disfigurement, not death, this easily accessible chemical has become the popular weapon for attacks against women who refuse sexual advances and offers of marriage made by men.
In Bangladesh where acid attacks are relatively common, most attacks are domestic violence.
Although acid attacks mainly target women, there has been a case in which a man was deliberately attacked by a woman, another where a man was attacked by a male and several other situations where men were inadvertently harmed due to their proximity.
In the first case, a man who divorced his wife was targeted by her with acid on two occasions permanently losing sight in one eye in the first assault.
She was arrested after chasing him in the streets, when police discovered that she was carrying acid, intending to attack again.
In the second incident, a Muslim cleric in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, was accused of attacking a male student with acid because the student refused his sexual advances.
Female attacks on males are comparatively uncommon.
Acid Attacks around the world are not unknown .
Australia - A Chinese-Australian named Dominic Li was murdered by gangsters, by having acid poured down his throat;
Bangladesh - Possibly has the highest rate of acid attacks of any country;
Cambodia - Acid attacks are frequently inflicted upon mistresses;
China - Acid attacks have been reported within the country;
El Salvador - A woman had acid poured in her face before being raped and murdered.
Ethiopia - A particularly gruesome attack was committed in the context of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War;
Italy - Michael Musmanno discusses attending a trial for a similar crime during the inter-war period;
Southern Thailand - Six Thai youths were assaulted with acid in Pattani, allegedly by Malay Muslim rebels.
United States of America - A student attending college had acid thrown in her face while at school by two men, in Oakland California.
Acid attacks as defined by UNICEF:
In an acid attack, a man throws acid (the kind found in car batteries) on the face of a girl or woman.
Any number of reasons can lead to acid attacks.
A delayed meal or the rejection of a marriage proposal is offered as justification for a man to disfigure a woman with acid.
Sulfuric acid is ubiquitous, being the basic, inexpensive ingredient for making lead acid batteries in all motorized vehicles all over the world.
There does not appear to be any way of reducing its availability in any way.
The court systems in Bangladesh has only recently started to administer stiff punishments to perpetrators, hoping that this will work as deterrent to others.
The Acid Survivors Foundation was established in May 1999 in Bangladesh to tackle the problem.
Throwing of sulfuric acid on the face and body of young females has become an increasingly popular way of expressing anger or frustration by jilted men, some being jilted lovers, ex-husbands, and the like.
Some of these young women are nothing more than unfortunately being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
In some cases an entire family have been victimized due to a bad relationship between one person in a family and an outsider.
April 22nd, 2008
That is one horrendous crime. This also happened in the Western world. When two years back I was in chicago, a pimp burnt the private parts of his whore with highly concentrated acid and then left her in a deserted place. Couple of hunters found her, raped her and then left her almost dead. This was when luckily she was somehow rescued by the police by chance.
Women under axe everywhere.
April 22nd, 2008
Why any human would want to heap such atrocity over other humans. It’s the extreme of narrow mindedness.
April 22nd, 2008
I really broke into tears after reading this brilliant piece. Amna you are simply great and doing a grand service out there. I am one of those silent readers of TPS who admire it with our silent homage, but this piece has made me cry and let my heart out here.
April 22nd, 2008
Violence against women takes a dismaying variety of forms, from domestic abuse and rape to child marriages and female circumcision and to this acid throwing. Even education fails to curb this, I am sure only the implementation of Islamic laws can prevent this ghastly thing.
April 22nd, 2008
If you, or someone you know, are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or dating violence please save her or him
April 22nd, 2008
It doesn’t matter what race or culture you come from, how much money you have, how old you are, or if you have a disability. Violence does not discriminate.
April 22nd, 2008
Here is something from DAWN Blog of April 21. It is time that we all equivocally send a loud message to our assemblies that this can not be allowed to continue.
Breaking the silence
Posted by Taimur Sikander | Filed Under National
The number of sexually abused children in Pakistan increased by 50 per cent between 2002 and 2006. According to The News, Sahil, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which deals with child abuse cases, published the report using personal and print media accounts. It highlights the fact that it is becoming more acceptable to report such cases where in the past it was thought of as taboo and the victims were ‘disowned’ by society.
The report is an indication of an overall rise in the disclosure of such cases and NGO officials believe the numbers could well rise after comprehensive efforts are made by the government to investigate and eradicate the problem. The data released by the organisation paints a very gloomy picture. Of the 8,209 reported cases, 74 per cent (5,491) were girls and 26 per cent (2,268) were boys. The most worrying trend to have emerged out of this report is the involvement of women in the abuse of minor children. While there were only five such cases in 2002, the number increased to 351 in 2006. This news would come as a shock to parents of young children who rely on nannies to look after and raise them. A total of 1,115 women and 550 boys were gang-raped between 2002 and 2006 and 482 were murdered after they had been abused.
Child rights and overall human rights for that matter are issues which usually evade the attention of the national government. The country desperately needs to set up child protections agencies with the authority to enforce laws and punish abusers. While some agencies have been established in Rawalpindi, it would be a wise step to set up a widely accessible helpline to immediately report and police such cases.
April 22nd, 2008
I don’t know where we are going? Every day we hears and reads extreme kind of crimes and then also reads that criminal was released on bail etc etc. Ratio of crimes is getting increase and no body is interested to control them with iron hands. Who is going to hear these innocent mothers, sisters, wives and daughters? Why we always takes them as symbol of sex only. Why we forgets that we also have mother, sister, wife and daughter at home? When we will realize our true identity.
No body is there to stop them. No body is there to hear their cries. When we will behave like a society? When we will fulfill our responsibilities as neighbors, friends and relatives. We can only climb on walls and see the whole torture, we can stand in streets and hearing painful cries. Alas! was are not even human beings. we are worst than animals these days. We are simply no more.
April 22nd, 2008
Amazing when people creat an acceptance level when they relate the Acid throwing crime with the ones happened all over the world.
Pakistan in general is an intolerant society,with a lot of pent up hate for themselves and other.
The only way we can learn to be humane is to accept Islam as our guideline or born again Muslim. Not the Mullah islam which is distorted into a horror picture.
Shame on all those animals who commit the crime of Acid throwing, may they rot in Hell fire.
April 22nd, 2008
Hi Amna,
A very important and truthful post which puts the mirror in front of the DEVILS. This is common in India also when girls refuse the advance of men and the jilted men take recourse to acid. It is very common in Bangladesh also. Death sentence and social ostracising in village level may help if done with state assistance.
April 22nd, 2008
Come on people! Stop pretending to be shocked. This is not anything new. It has been going on and if we decided to look the other way; it is our fault. We have failed as people; we treated our women as our chattel (as cows, buffalos) ; we think our children to be our property. We have been the most insensitive and primitive people because we have tolerated such abnormal behaviour among us to the vast majority of our weaker segment of our population. Is there any denials here? However, lets say that it was yesterday and we are sorry now and reject it from this day on.
Now, what are we going to do about it? What should we do about it?
April 22nd, 2008
A total of 1,115 women and 550 boys were gang-raped between 2002 and 2006 and 482 were murdered after they had been abused.
April 22nd, 2008
sub bakwaas, BS hai
April 24th, 2008
simply great
April 25th, 2008
The only fair punishment I can think of to avenge the cirminal act is to throw back acid on the perpetrator and on the samer parts plus public humiliation and forfeiture of wealth to take care of the victim
May 4th, 2008
i like pakistani police women.becouse they are very bave womens.
i love them.
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June 29th, 2008
Aftab, 550 boys gang-raped by men?