Acid
Test For Being Women
By Ammu Joseph
16 August, 2004
The
Hindu
Bride-burning. Widow-burning.
Female infanticide. Pre-natal sex selection. And now acid attacks: the
latest addition to India's and South Asia's hall of infamy.
Nearly 280 women
were killed and 750 injured through acid attacks in Pakistan in 2002,
according to Human Rights Watch. The Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF)
in Bangladesh recorded 485 such attacks in 2002 alone; it is estimated
that at least 864 women, 412 men and 14 children had acid thrown on
them there in the four years up to 2003. In both countries, cases appear
to be increasing at a rate of 40 to 50 per cent every year.
There are no comparable
nationwide figures for India. However, the largest and most populated
nation in the region, with a high prevalence of various forms of violence
against women, is unlikely to get left behind in the race.
The Bangalore-based
Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW), for example,
has investigated 35 cases of acid attacks over the past five years in
Karnataka alone. And this does not include the latest incident, which
took place in the State capital in mid-July 2004, partly because the
victim and her family have opted not to go public with their trauma.
According to CSAAAW activists, with many cases remaining unreported
for fear of further violence as well as social stigma, the number probably
represents no more than the tip of the iceberg.
Increasingly common
Media reports from different parts of the country over the past few
years suggest that the acid attack phenomenon is becoming increasingly
common and widespread, with neither class nor caste nor creed nor any
other variable serving as protective barriers, and with triggers ranging
from unrequited love and marital discord (often over trivial matters)
through family feuds and property disputes to enforcement of social
diktats of various kinds.
In January 2004,
three working women travelling in a local commuter train in Mumbai were
seriously injured when acid was thrown in through a window. A July 2002
newspaper report from Kanpur claimed that at least half a dozen cases
had come to light in that part of the country over the previous seven
months, even though only two had been registered with the police. And,
of course, acid attacks made national headlines in 2001 when members
of an obscure militant group in Kashmir followed through on their threat
of violence against unveiled women by throwing acid on four young women
in Srinagar. Although men, too, have been attacked with acid, women
are disproportionately represented among the victims of this form of
violence.
CSAAAW, a coalition
of organisations and individuals across Karnataka, hopes to forge alliances
with groups elsewhere that share their concern about violence against
women in order to focus attention on this particularly monstrous crime.
In their analysis, acid attacks constitute an exceptionally cruel addition
to the long list of violent crimes against women, including rape, dowry-related
and other forms of domestic violence, pre- and post-natal elimination
of female children, and sexual harassment. A nationwide attempt to collect
and collate information may yield a more complete picture of the prevalence
and nature of such attacks in India.
Of course, numbers
are significant only to the extent that they can be used to convince
the public and the authorities about the seriousness and pervasiveness
of the crime, and the need for special measures to deal with it. What
is extraordinary about acid attacks is that they are clearly and cruelly
calculated to permanently disfigure, debilitate and, eventually, destroy
the person at the receiving end, both physically and psychologically.
The malicious intent
is clear from the fact that most attacks are directed primarily at the
face and result in terrible damage and distortion. The consequent defacement
drives many victims underground in the face of ridicule and rejection,
and makes it difficult for them to function in society. Most women find
themselves abandoned by their husbands and sometimes, tragically, even
alienated from their children, who find it difficult to come to terms
with their mothers' unrecognisable faces. With few employers willing
to hire people with such visible deformities, the majority find it difficult
to earn a living even after they regain their capacity to work. At the
same time, many are solely responsible for their children, and all of
them have to deal with greatly increased healthcare needs and the prohibitive
cost of essential medical treatment.
The multiple, diverse
and long-term consequences of acid attacks ensure that most victims
endure lifelong trauma in one way or another. It is not for nothing
that such attacks are categorised among the grossest violations of human
rights to surface in recent times.
Take the case of
Hasina Husain, an attractive, smart, educated, Bangalore-based young
woman who was just 20 when a former employer threw acid on her face
and hands in 1999. A member of the defence forces, moonlighting with
his own business, the man had been harassing her after she quit her
DTP operator's job in his failing company and began working in another
firm. The acid burnt a hole in her head, dissolved her lips, nose and
one of her earlobes, welded one side of her neck to her shoulder, transformed
the shape and colour of her face, and left her blind in both eyes. Her
fingers were also fused together.
Five years, 18 surgeries
and Rs. 6 lakhs worth of treatment later, her face is still disfigured
and she has not been able to get back to normal life, especially work,
mainly because her sight has not been restored despite three corneal
implants. She requires several more surgeries but they have been indefinitely
postponed due to financial constraints. Meanwhile, her attacker, Joseph
Rodrigues, is now a free man, recently released after having spent just
five years and three months in jail and paying a fine of Rs. 3 lakhs
for the crime that devastated Hasina's life.
Still, Hasina's
case has made history as the second one in the State to result in a
conviction; the first involved former Prime Minister Hardenahalli Dodegowda
Deve Gowda's wife and daughter-in-law, who were attacked with acid by
a relative in 2001. The many other women whose cases CSAAAW has been
involved with among them Noor Jahan, Shanthi, Tara and Shruthi
have not come even thus far in their quest for justice.
The good news is
that several survivors have been brave and strong enough to join in
the struggle against acid attacks. Some of them shared their experiences
at a public hearing held in Bangalore in January 2004, which launched
the campaign. They have also told their stories in a documentary film,
"Suttaru Solloppadavaru (Burnt not destroyed"), directed by
Sanjana C.B. and Usha B.N., which is being widely used to create public
awareness of the problem. Another bit of good news is that the campaign
has prompted many members of the public to not only join the struggle
but also contribute in different ways towards ameliorating the situation
of survivors.
The way out
However, according to CSAAAW activists, the fight for the rights of
survivors as well as the prevention of future attacks has to be waged
on several fronts, ranging from the legal to the social. They are exploring
the question of whether or not a comprehensive law is required to deal
with atrocities against women, including acid attacks. Bangladesh enacted
legislation to deal with acid crimes in 2002. They are also examining
the possibility of reducing the easy availability of cheap, corrosive
acids through more strict regulation of the production, transportation,
storage, sale and use of such hazardous substances.
Although they have
had some success in persuading the police to register such cases as
"attempts to murder" and not just "causing grievous hurt",
they find that investigations are all too often inadequate and flawed.
And, as in other gender-related crimes, the investigative and legal
processes tend to focus on the character and behaviour of the victim
rather than the perpetrator. They believe the police as well as lawyers
and judges need to be sensitised if more such gender-related crimes
are to be brought to trial and to eventually result in conviction, which
is seen as a vital aspect of prevention. The campaign has also revealed
the urgent need for more informed and sensitive responses from healthcare
professionals, not to mention families, friends, employers, colleagues
and society as a whole.
However, they say,
the greatest challenge is to build public opinion against such crimes
and to create a consensus within civil society that upholds the principle
of zero tolerance for violence.