SCARRED FOR LIFE

As Mao Tzedong said, “Women hold up half the sky”, but until recently violence against women and girls has lacked reliable statistics and surveillance systems. Acid throwing, also known as acid attack, has emerged as a new brutal form of violence against women that involves the throwing of sulphuric, nitric or hydrochloric acid onto another person, with the intention to physically, mentally and socially scar another person’s life. Although acid attacks occur worldwide (including Europe, Middle East, North America, North Africa) such violence has become an epidemic in South Asia, especially in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

There are no fix rules of acid violence. Acid attack victims are girls, women and men, and perpetrated by both women and men who kill or seriously injure family and community members. In some cases the victims and perpetuators are also women, who commit the crime for jealously. Yet, global statistics suggest that attacks are predominantly perpetrated by men as a result of shame, dishonour, traditional perception of women and influences from the media. According to the Acid Survivors Foundation(ASF) total of 3510 individuals were burned in Bangladesh by acid between 1999 and 2013, out of which 2408 (69%) are female. The organization has a vision to free Bangladesh from acid violence and ensure that acid survivors live with dignity. Experts claim that most of the acid violence occurring in very remote areas among women and girls remain unreported, increasing the female population from 69% to 75-80% of the total victims.

The majority of acid attacks victims are usually young women aged from thirteen to thirty five and are attacked by men whose sexual desires are rejected or men taking revenge for rejecting marriage proposals. It is an extension of the idea that “If I can’t have her, then no one can have her,” thereby ruining any chances of having an ‘ideal’ marriage life, house and children. More than 43% of total females acid attack survivors are under the age of 18.

As the Pan America Health Organization (PAHO) suggests 10%-50% of women globally have experienced some sort of physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives. ASF also reported that half of the acid violence are by the man closest to the victims- married men who get bored by their wives or who want to get dowry[1] from a new wife or who wants to have a son to keep the family tradition. This is because of the embedded patriarchal society where females lack basic rights and are at high risk of violence

Reasons behind Attacks

Reasons for attack vary from rejection of sex and marriage proposal, dowry, family dispute, female infanticide, extramarital affairs, revenge, land or business disputes, sexual jealousy and robbery. The Annual report from ASF statistics emphasizes that dowry, family related dispute and marital dispute consist 21% of reason for acid attack, whereas land or business disputes comprise 39% of total violence. Most disputes related to land, business, property and money occurs between men but perpetrators attack mothers/wives/daughters/sisters of those that they have the disputes as beautiful female members are often considered as ‘pride’ and ‘assets’ of the family.

Acid Attack Reasons (1999-2013). Source: ASF “Annual Report 2013.”

The motives of acid throw often differs by country.

In Bangladesh, the highest world-wide reported cases of acid attack, men are the predominant acid throwers whose motivations are over land and business disputes followed by refusal of marriage or sexual proposal, ASF suggests.

The number of reported acid attacks in India has surged. There were 309 reported acid attack cases in 2014 compared to 66 cases in 2013, India home minister reported. In India, acid is poured against women predominantly for hate or revenge. Reshma Qureshi (age 18) and Lalita Ben Bansi (age 21) were attacked for revenge in India. In May 2014, Reshma was visiting her sister in Allahabad when her brother-in-law tried to attack both of them. Reshma tried to escape, when some of the sulphric acid fell on her sister. But her brother-in-law’s friends chased her down a street where she was pinned down and her face doused with acid. She lost her left eye; her right eye is still infected. Her face was severely disfigured. Lalita, meanwhile, was on her way to a fair in October 2012 when an elaborate ordeal emptied the beer bottle filled with acid over her head. She was attacked five months after she yelled at a younger cousin brother during an indoor game. It took three hours for her mother and aunt to get her to a hospital. By then she was blinded, her elbows were stuck at an angle and her nose, ears and eyelids had melted.

In Pakistan, men more commonly throw acid on women over rejection of marriage/sex proposal or women wearing modern or westernized dress. At least 280 women died and 750 suffered injuries in 2002 alone as a result of acid attacks, ASF Pakistan listed. The Oscar-winning documentary about acid attacks in Pakistan, Saving Face, highlighted the stories of two women, Zakia and Rukhsana, where Zakia was attacked by her husband when she made the decision to divorce her addictive husband. In the case of Rukhsana, her husband threw the acid on her then her sister-in-law threw gasoline, and her mother-in-law lit a match and set her on fire. The reason of attack on Rukhsana is unknown and her husband denied the accusation.

In Cambodia, it is more common that women attack other women over sexual jealousy or ‘triangle of loving/relationship affairs’ so that the husbands will not stay with another woman or next wife.

Recently there have been notable acid attacks among Iranian women for not dressing modestly and covering hair. Acid is also commonly used for female genital mutilation (FGM) and preserving girls’ chastity.

Why Acid?

There are few factors that contribute to escalate the level of acid attack. First, acid has become a favoured weapon of choice for both men and women because it is cheaper than other forms of weapons and are readily available at stores. In Asian countries, sulphuric acid is as cheap as 30 cents a litre and can be found at any automobile shops.. Second, the legal system are weak and police officers especially in Asian countries are corrupts which often allows perpetrators to avoid justice.

Measures to protect Acid victims

In 2015, the Supreme Court of India ordered private hospitals to bear the entire cost of medical treatment of acid attack survivors, including costly plastic and corrective surgeries. In July 2013, the court ordered the state government to pay the compensation of accumulated 300,000 rupees (€4,500) in installments to the victims. The victims are entitled 100,000 rupees within 15 days of an assault and rest over the subsequents months but lack proper implementation and poor awareness among law enforcers as well as victims. The two Mumbai acid attack survivors Reshma Qureshi and Lalita Ben lack the information about the type of compensation the government offered to acid victims and where to claim. They are not even sure if they can receive the compensation.

For Reshma, it has almost been a year since her family have received a letter from a senior police inspector promising them 100,000 rupees within 15 days and 200,000 rupees over the subsequent two months. But she and her family have yet to receive the state’s compensation. In the case of Lalita, she was provided free medical treatment but was not aware about the compensation. Although Lalita was attacked before the Supreme Court verdict, the court stated in March that every acid victims are eligibility for assistance under the scheme would be implemented, which means Lalita too could approach the government for aid.

In the Indian case, the 300,000 rupees compensation by the state government to the survivors is not enough for the multiple round of plastic surgeries. Aside from the various efforts by state forces, there is a need to wake up to the issue and raise a collective voice against it. Acid violence seldom kills but results in a permanent scar, both physical and mental.

There have been several efforts such as free treatments, compensation from the government and, ‘donate a face’ campaign, to support the victims and raise awareness among people about the experiences of the survivors, but they are not sufficient. There is a need for a national, international and regional working group to share information, raise awareness, improve interventions and prevent acid attack violence.

[1] Dowry is given by bride’s family in form of money or goods and the wife brings to her husband at marriage.

(This piece was written for 'Words In The Bucket' that published on April 29, 2015.)

Social Status of Nepalese Women

@United Nations

  Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedom set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex (Seo, 2011; Nepal law commission, 2007). However, violence against women is a widespread phenomenon in Nepal. The three dimensional of gender injustices are economic, cultural and political, as Fraser mentioned in new left review (2009). Nepalese women particularly in rural areas are “disempowered”[1]resulting from patriarchy,[2]social and cultural prejudices and  civil and political unjust that legitimize and maintain unequal power relation between men and women (UNESCAP, 2000 p.14; Ghandhi, 2004, p95) in all private and public sphere.

Some of the common forms of violence Nepalese women are subjected to are “domestic violence,” “sexual exploitation,” “incest,” “rape,” “sexual harassment,” “sex discrimination,” “medical abuse,” “marital rape,” “pornography and abuse of women in media,” “custodial abuse,” “female foeticide,” “dowry-related violence and murder,” and “physical and mental torture,” “culture-bound practices” and “ritual abuse” (Tuladhar cited on UNESCAP report 2000). These have been exacerbated by several others factors such as poverty,[3] domestic violence, trafficking, financial dependence, lack of education, and limited training opportunities, which have challenged to exercise women’s right in the country (UNESCAP, 2000; Martin, 2008).



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Nepalese society creates a distinct role for men and women since its formation. Men are the “breadwinner,” “protector”, “provider” and held a superior position within the “domestic mode of production” and control the distribution of resources and goods in the family (Subedi, 2010; p3-7).  Although women in rural villages care their family members as they rise, still most of the parents preferred sons over daughter (Martin, 2008). As a result, many women from rural and urban areas are obligated to give a birth to a child until they have a son. Their bodies are treated as if like a child bearing machines. It is widely believed in a traditional family that the birth of a son paves their way to heaven (chhora paye swarga jaane)[4] therein fosters the derogatory attitude towards women (Malla, 2000). Even now, most of the parents prefer to wait just to give birth to a son (dhilo paye, chhora paye) in the name of preserving the customs.



@Khasamproject.com



On the other hand, girls are discriminated from the day they are born. From the early ages, boys are prepared towards 'outside world' to involve in “productive”[5] and decision making function, whereas girls are detained to the 'inside world' to learn the household chores to be a perfect “home maker,” “dutiful and loyal wife,” “loving mother,” “subservient” and “service provider.” In the same way, daughters are considered to be given away as a “gift” in marriages in the name of traditional practices called kanya daan.

 Even if women are employed, they are assigned for lower clerical jobs. Their income are used as supplement, similar to what feminist Fraser define “Androcentrism” during the critique of the old paradigm of movements (2009, p101). Generally, it is acknowledged that son brightens the whole world, whereas a daughter can only brighten the kitchen (Chhora paye sansar ujayalo, chhori bhaye banchha Ujyal). The society gives the full rights only to sons to carry the family name, perform death rituals and rite (Subedi, 2010; p.16), regardless of some legal provisions to eliminate gender based inequalities. This is to mention just a few points from Subedi’s work: From the very early age, female are treated as if they are not as good as men. Young girls are fed after their brother, young wives are look after husbands, elderly women look after their sons and so the cycle continues (2010, p7). 

 On the other hand, wife is also taken as the dust of the husband foot (Srimati bhaneko paitalako dhulo ho) so, a husband owns a full “power” to do “whatever” and “whenever” he wants. This belief has also enhanced the cases of domestic violence in Nepal. There were 1,100 cases of domestic violence that have been documented at the central cell for women and children police headquarters only in 2007. The most highlighted case was Husun Idrisi from Nepalgunj, one of the western cities of Nepal. Her husband poured kerosene in her body, set a fire nearby and locked inside a toilet for not bringing enough marriage dowry, but she was survived with the help of neighbors when they heard her shouts for help (Dhakal, 2008). Similarly, four women were killed just in a week space from “zones free of violence against women”[6] in dowry related disputes by their family members in the last week of January 2008 (Dhakal, p548). How can we expect a respectable position of women in public spaces, if they are ignored and sometimes killed in their own families, by their own relatives?

There are also hundreds of undisclosed cases of domestic violence against women. Women social lawyers and workers argues that almost 70% of rape incidents are by close relatives and go unreported but the crime research branch denied the fact and only admit that 40% of rape incidents are concealed (UNESCAP, 2000). Yet, there is no any instances record of sexual cruelty in the form of sexual intercourse between a husband and a wife’s will, although there exist many.

@The Asia Foundation

 The society accepts the fighting between wife and husband as a fire in the hay which flares up quickly and dies as immediately (logne swasniko jhagada paralko ago). Thus, interference in others family matter is “not accepted” and “not advisable,” even if it is the case of intensive and serious violence and abuse (Dhakal, 2008). Additionally, women trafficking for the purpose of prostitutions are now widely increasing in an alarming rate[7] in Nepal but there is no factual information on how many women are trafficked every day, except than the Trafficking in Persons and Transportation Control Act (TPTA) 2007.

@google.com

There are number of advocacy campaigns for the public denouncement of violence against women y some NGOs (UNESCAP, 2000, p.22), but still violence against women is rampant. There is a need to understand that prejudices come from traditional norms and values and are created and fostered by human beings long time back which can be changed to benefits both sexes and make our society a better place. Women should be recognized as a partner rather than a subordinator to men. Moreover, gender should be taken into consideration as a necessity in development work to create a gender equal society.

References

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). “Violence against Women in South Asia.” 2000. p11-80. ISBN:9211200245. United Nations publication. New York. Print.

Malla, Sapana Pradhan. “Property Rights of Nepalese Women.” FES Nepal. March 2000.Web. 20 June 2011. http://www.nepaldemocracy.org/gender/property_rights.htm.

Subedi, Prativa. Nepali Women at the Crossroads: Gender and Development. Tripureshwar, Kathmandu, Nepal: Sahayogi Press, 2010. p1-138. Print.

Martin, Jodie. "Women and Patriarchy in Nepal: The Legal System and Patriarchal Structure Continues to Discriminate." Activism by Suite 101. 21 Aug.2008. Web.17 May 2011.              http://www.suite101.com/content/patriarchy-in-nepal-a65341.

Seo, Youngpyo. "Seminar 5: Feminist Critique of the Old Paradigm of Movements." Social Problems and Social Movements politics. MAINS. SKHU Classroom. 2011. Lecture.

Ghandhi, P.R. Blackstone’s International Human Rights Documents. 4^th edition. 8 Sept. 2004. p95-104, p472-505. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0199273065. Print.

Nepal law commission. “Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of  Discrimination against Women.” 15 June 2007.Print.

Fraser, Nancy. “Feminism, Capitalism and the Cunning of history,” New Left review 56.    Mar-Apr 2009. p97-117. Print.

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         [1] The term “Disempowered” has been borrowed from the author of Nepali Women at the Crossroads which means that women have no control over resources or information, decision making role and have to work under someone else’s direction (p16).

                  [2]Patriarchy is a constant societal structure in Nepal that refers to the rule of men’s where men dominate oppressed and exploit women to extract benefits. It also encourage men to be sexually assertive to perceive women in sexual term (Subedi, 2010).

                  [3] UNESCAP reported that about 31% of the total population lives below the national poverty line, whereas, about 25% of the total population live below $1 per day in 2004 (2007, P.106). After signing MDGs, the government of Nepal has committed to reduce the national poverty line to 21% and population living $1 to 17% by 2015.

                  [4] I have written the patriarchy Nepali beliefs which reflects the derogatory attitude towards Nepalese female in the bracket and italicized. All of these beliefs that are used in my paper are taken from Malla.

                  [5]Productive work refers to the works that generate money in the form of salary, wages or income.

                  [6] A year back, the local civil society organizations have declared “zones free of violence against women” in Rupandehi and Nawalparasi, two of 75 districts in Nepal, but four women were killed for not bringing enough dowries. This is one of hundreds growing culture of impunity throughout the country.

                  [7] It is estimated that about 300,000 women are trafficked and forced to be prostitute only in Indian brothels. Other destinations of women trafficking are Middle East and some European countries.