Scarred, but scared no more
Archana Datta
Acid attacks continue unabated! Is society still brewing ‘masculine toxicity’? ‘Male dominance results not from strength but from aggression …’, writes Yuval Noah Harari, in his book Sapiens.
Sadly, the heart-wrenching tales of young women like Ritu, Puja, Bimla and Anupama (name changed), all survivors of acid attacks, with 50 to 67 per cent burn injuries, bear testimony to monstrous male pugnacity. At ‘Sheroes Home’, Noida, an abode of acid victims founded in 2014, run by Chhanv Foundation, their badly scarred faces, however, do not betray any sense of despondency but a tenaciousness to take life head on.
“I want to become an IAS officer and have already enrolled my-self at a coaching centre at Karol Bagh in Delhi,” said a confident Anupama, now 23 years old and a graduate through the open learning system. In 2013, her private tutor threw acid on her face when she spurned his overtures. Anupama’s case is still going on, while her tormentor was out on bail just after three months.
Puja, a 20-year-old graduate, while on her way to work in a private mobile phone company in Kanpur, became a target of a murderous assault when she refused to elope with her sister’s brother-in law. After a decade-long treatment, she managed pick up the threads of her life. Today, she’s married and has two kids. She now lives in Sultanpuri, Delhi. Her initial efforts to resume work in a neighbourhood playschool received a jolt when the founder of the school found “her face too scary for young kids”. Today, she is much more confident — “I might join a school soon,” she said.
In 2008, Bimla, a married woman with two children, got injured in a political crossfire in a case of mistaken identity in Delhi cantonment. She endured an acid attack while returning home from work in a health drink company. The police was clueless about the motive and began harassing her parents and in-laws as Bimla said that ‘theirs was a love marriage’. The exasperated couple finally had to withdraw the case. Bimla, now 39, who has done a beautician’s course, seems to have taken control of her life and is looking forward to opening a parlour.
Ritu, who comes from a family of sportspersons, was a state-level volleyball player in Haryana. At the age of 17, she earned the wrath of her cousin, 22 years older than her, when she rejected his marriage proposal. Now 24, Ritu helps out fellow victims at Sheroes Home for sundry things like hospital tie-ups, legal documentation, etc. “I am waiting for my disability certificate. Once I receive it, I shall start applying for government jobs,” she said.
Gender violence
In India, violence against women is commonplace. The NFHS-4 survey reported that ‘33 per cent of married women have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional spousal violence’. Another study found that ‘before the age of 19 years, four in 10 women face some kind of violence or harassment’. There are reportedly about 3,412 incidents of acid attacks from 1999 till June, 2019, with majority of the victims falling in the 26-35 age bracket at the time of the assault.
Alok Dixit, counselling director, Chhanv Foundation, an initiator of the online campaign, Stop Acid Attacks (SAA), reacting to a spurt in such incidents, feels the issue needs to be viewed from the perspective of gender violence. “I’ve come across more than two hundred such cases which are mostly passion crimes, committed by close family members/ colleagues/ friends, etc. The issue has been tackled only from the medico- legal angle, while it should be looked at from the overall perspective of gender violence,” said Dixit. “Laws, however, stringent, can’t do much unless the mindset of society is changed.”
Shaheen Malik, an acid attack survivor herself, now working as the national coordinator, Human Rights Legal Network (HULN), the first organisation in India offering pro-bono legal assistance to aggrieved women, doesn’t agree. “It is easy to commit a crime like acid attack, as acid is cheap and easily available. Only strict compliance of laws and time-bound judicial action could act as a deterrent, the change of mindset is a long-term process,” said Malik.” She feels that ‘all stakeholders like the police, judiciary and doctors, too, need a thorough sensitisation in handling such cases.” At the age 22, 13 years back, while working as a student counsellor at a learning centre at Panipat, Haryana, under the Punjab Technical University, she became a victim of her institution head’s unwanted attention, which led to his enraged wife throwing acid on her face through a hired man. The attack left her face badly damaged, blinded in one eye and the other eye with a scarred retina, needing life-long treatment. Her trial, following the Supreme Court’s intervention, began in 2014 at the Rohini court.
Poor law enforcement
In India, acid attack is now a separate criminal offence after the Criminal Law (Amendment Act) 2013 came into being, which has raised the quantum of maximum punishment to life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh. But many activists feel that ‘the new law has only increased the punishment, it hasn’t offered concrete solutions for long-term medical care or measures to mainstream victims in society’. Some also complain about tardy law enforcement processes. “Many die from their injuries before they are able to go to the police. And those are able to reach, wait for years for justice. In at least 40 per cent of the cases, the attackers remain absconding,” they say.
In 2013, the Supreme Court restricted the stocking and sale of acids, but it is ‘more often found to be violated’. The Prevention of Acid Attacks and Rehabilitation of Acid Attack Victims Bill, 2017, is yet to see the light of the day.
The Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which earmarked one per cent jobs for acid attack victims, along with other categories of locomotor disabilities, has been dubbed by many as ‘inadequate’.
Surprisingly, it’s no longer a women’s issue; there are reportedly a large number of male victims, too. In February, 2019, a PIL has urged to include men in the existing women-centric acid laws.
Unfortunately, the patriarchal society, with its deep roots in gender stereotyping, continues to breed toxic masculinity, making women increasingly vulnerabilities. Isn’t it high time to end perpetuating myths and save many future Ritus, Pujas, Shaheens, Bimlas from barbaric attacks?
What to do in case you suffer or witness an acid attack
- If you are the victim of an acid attack or witness one taking place, it’s important to act as quickly as possible to minimise damage to the eyes, skin and surrounding tissues.
- People should not waste time searching for an antidote to the chemical, and should not attempt to neutralise burns caused by acids or alkalis unless properly trained.
- The most effective action to take is to try and flood the burn with water to disperse the chemical and stop the burning. Bottled water is fine for this if it is the only thing available
- Try and douse the burn with water for at least 20 minutes, ensuring that no contaminated puddles are allowed to collect under the victim.
- While flooding the injury, try and gently remove any clothing with the substance on it and call an ambulance as soon as possible, while checking the casualty is still breathing and responsive.
- Do not allow the casualty to touch the injured eye, as he/she may have acid on their hands, and do not forcibly remove contact lens.
- Make sure that the contaminated water does not splash the un-injured eye. Someone helping should ask the casualty to hold a clean, non-fluffy pad over the injured eye, and arrange to send them to hospital.
— The Independent
