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| Acid attacks damage the victim physically and psychologically and may require long-term surgical treatment. The physical scarring can lead to survivors feeling shame and embarrassment, and suffering prejudice and stigma from their peers.<ref name=CASC>{{cite web | title =Long Term Impact of ACID Attack | url =http://www.cambodianacidsurvivorscharity.org/impact.htm| accessdate =2008-03-28}}</ref> The ] (ASF) provides aid in treating victims of acid attacks in Bangladesh.<ref name=Anwary>Anwar, Afroza, 'Acid Violence and Medical Care in Bangladesh: Women's Activism as Carework' in Mary K. Zimmerman, Jacquelyn S. Litt and Christine E. Bose (eds) ''Global Dimensions of Gender and Carework'' (Stanford University Press, 2006), ISBN 9780804753245</ref>. In Cambodia, the ] (CASC) is committed to empowering and supporting survivors of acid burns and eliminating acid violence through legal reform and preventative education.<ref name=CASC1>{{cite web | title =CASC Main Page| url =http://www.cambodianacidsurvivorscharity.org/| accessdate =2008-08-05}}</ref> | Acid attacks damage the victim physically and psychologically and may require long-term surgical treatment. The physical scarring can lead to survivors feeling shame and embarrassment, and suffering prejudice and stigma from their peers.<ref name=CASC>{{cite web | title =Long Term Impact of ACID Attack | url =http://www.cambodianacidsurvivorscharity.org/impact.htm| accessdate =2008-03-28}}</ref> The ] (ASF) provides aid in treating victims of acid attacks in Bangladesh.<ref name=Anwary>Anwar, Afroza, 'Acid Violence and Medical Care in Bangladesh: Women's Activism as Carework' in Mary K. Zimmerman, Jacquelyn S. Litt and Christine E. Bose (eds) ''Global Dimensions of Gender and Carework'' (Stanford University Press, 2006), ISBN 9780804753245</ref>. In Cambodia, the ] (CASC) is committed to empowering and supporting survivors of acid burns and eliminating acid violence through legal reform and preventative education.<ref name=CASC1>{{cite web | title =CASC Main Page| url =http://www.cambodianacidsurvivorscharity.org/| accessdate =2008-08-05}}</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | Acid attacks are used there as a form of revenge for refusal of sexual advances, proposals of marriage and demands for dowry.<ref name=Bandyopadhyay_Khan> Bandyopadhyay, Mridula and Mahmuda Rahman Khan, 'Loss of face: violence against women in South Asia' in Lenore Manderson, Linda Rae Bennett (eds) ''Violence Against Women in Asian Societies'' (Routledge, 2003), ISBN 9780700717412</ref> Scholars Taru Bahl and M.H. Syed say that land disputes are another leading cause of acid attacks.<ref name=Bahl_Syed/> In ], where acid attacks are relatively common, attacks are mostly a form of ].<ref name=Scholte>{{cite news | last =Scholte| first =Marianne| title =Acid Attacks in Bangladesh: A Voice for the Victims| publisher = ]| date = 2006-03-17| url =http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,406485,00.html| accessdate =2008-03-21}}</ref> Tom O'Neill of '']'' reported that acid attacks are also used to enforce the ] in modern ], where uppercaste individuals often attack ]s for supposedly violating the order.<ref>{{Citation| last = O'Neill | first = Tom | title = India's Untouchables | magazine=] | pages =2-31 |date = June 2003}}</ref> | ||
| ==Motivation of attackers== | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ]s in South Asia, ]<ref>Molavi, Afshini ''The Soul of Iran'', Norton, (2005), p.152: Following the mandating of the covering of hair by women in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a hijab-less woman `was shopping. A bearded young man approached me. He said he would throw acid on my face if I did not comply with the rules." </ref>, | |||
| Afghanistan, | |||
| <ref> "] ... as a youth used to throw acid on the faces of unveiled girls in Afghanistan."</ref> | |||
| ], | |||
| <ref>In 2006, a group in ] calling itself "Just Swords of Islam" is reported to have claimed it threw acid at the face of a young woman who was dressed "immodestly," and warned other women in ] that they must wear hijab. </ref> | |||
| ] | |||
| <ref>a 2001 "acid attack on four young Muslim women in ] ... by an unknown militant outfit, and the swift compliance by women of all ages on the issue of wearing the ] (head-dress) in public." </ref> | |||
| <ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| and ] | |||
| <ref>Iranian journalist Amir Taheri tells of an 18-year-old college student at the ] who on the eve of ] in 1985 "was surrounded and attacked by a group of youths -- all members of ], the Party of Allah. They objected to the `lax way` in which they thought she was dressed, and accused her of `insulting the blood of the martyrs` by not having her hair fully covered. Then one of the youths threw `a burning liquid` on her face." According to Taheri, "scores -- some say hundreds -- of women ... in Baalbek, in Beirut, in southern Lebanon and in many other Muslim cities from Tunis to Kuala Lumpur," were attacked in a similar manner from 1980 to 1986. Taheri, Amir, ''Holy Terror : the Inside Story of Islamic Terrorism'', Adler & Adler, 1987, p.12</ref> | |||
| have been accused of using or threatening to use acid to attack the faces of women in an effort to coerce them to refrain from wearing makeup or allegedly immodest dress. According to a ] commentary by Cheryl Benard, "in ], ], and ], hundreds of women have been blinded or maimed when acid was thrown on their unveiled faces by male fanatics who considered them improperly dressed," for failure to wear ]. <ref name="BenardFrench"> </ref> | |||
| ==Legislation== | ==Legislation== | ||
Revision as of 21:14, 28 August 2008
Acid attacks are a violent phenomena that primarily occur in Afganistan, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other Asian countries. Perpetrators of these attacks throw acid at their victims (usually at their faces), burning them. Jordan Swanson states that sulfuric acid when thrown on a human body, causes skin tissue to melt, often exposing bones below the flesh, sometimes even dissolving the bones.
The consequences of these attacks include permanent scarring of the face and body as well as potential blindness. Acid attacks are sometimes referred to as vitriolage. Eighty percent of all acid attack victims are female; and almost 40% are under 18 years of age.
Victims and treatment
The chemical agents most commonly used to commit these attacks are hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid. Acid attacks are, according to Mridula Bandyopadhyay and Mahmuda Rahman Khan, a form of violence primarily targeted at women. They describe it as a relatively recent form of violence with the earliest record in Bangladesh from 1983. The scholar Afroza Anwary, makes the point out that acid violence does not only occur in Bangladesh but also in Pakistan, China, Ethiopia and has occurred historically in Europe.
Acid attacks damage the victim physically and psychologically and may require long-term surgical treatment. The physical scarring can lead to survivors feeling shame and embarrassment, and suffering prejudice and stigma from their peers. The Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) provides aid in treating victims of acid attacks in Bangladesh.. In Cambodia, the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC) is committed to empowering and supporting survivors of acid burns and eliminating acid violence through legal reform and preventative education.
Acid attacks are used there as a form of revenge for refusal of sexual advances, proposals of marriage and demands for dowry. Scholars Taru Bahl and M.H. Syed say that land disputes are another leading cause of acid attacks. In Bangladesh, where acid attacks are relatively common, attacks are mostly a form of domestic violence. Tom O'Neill of National Geographic reported that acid attacks are also used to enforce the caste system in modern India, where uppercaste individuals often attack Dalits for supposedly violating the order.
Legislation
In 2002, Bangladesh introduced the death penalty for throwing acid and laws strictly controlling the sales of acids.
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 their eyes.
See also
References
- Ermachild Chavis, melody, Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan (St Martin's Press, 2003), ISBN 978031230689X
- A. Carlson Whalen, Mother Earth and the Gene Machines (Vantage Press, 2006), ISBN 9780533153395
- ^ Bandyopadhyay, Mridula and Mahmuda Rahman Khan, 'Loss of face: violence against women in South Asia' in Lenore Manderson, Linda Rae Bennett (eds) Violence Against Women in Asian Societies (Routledge, 2003), ISBN 9780700717412
- ^ "CNN.com - Bangladesh combats an acid onslaught against women - November 11, 2000". Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ Bahl, Taru & M.H. Syed, Encyclopaedia of the Muslim World (Anmol Publications PVT Ltd, 2004), ISBN 9788126114193, p. 224
- Swanson, Jordan (Spring 2002), "Acid attacks: Bangladesh's efforts to stop the violence.", Harvard Health Policy Review, vol. 3, no. Spring 2002, p. 3, retrieved 2008-06-18
{{citation}}: More than one of|number=and|issue=specified (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Karmakar, R.N., Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (Academic Publishers, 2003), ISBN 9788187504692
- ^ Anwary, Afroza (Spring 2002), "Acid Violence And Medical Care In Bangladesh: Women's Activism as Carework.", Gender & Society, vol. 17, no. 2003, pp. 305–313, doi:10.1177/0891243202250851, retrieved 2008-06-18
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|publsiher=ignored (|publisher=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) Cite error: The named reference "Anwary" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - "Long Term Impact of ACID Attack". Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- "CASC Main Page". Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- Scholte, Marianne (2006-03-17). "Acid Attacks in Bangladesh: A Voice for the Victims". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
- O'Neill, Tom (June 2003), "India's Untouchables", National Geographic, pp. 2–31
- Roland Buerk (28 July 2006). "Bangladesh's acid attack problem". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - Juliette Terzieff (July 13, 2004). "Pakistan's Acid-Attack Victims Press for Justice". Women's eNews. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
External links
- Reports of acid attacks from around the world
- Bangladesh: Acid Attacks in Bangladesh: A Voice for the Victims
- Cambodia: Living in the Shadows: Acid Attacks in Cambodia Report
- China: Hospital offers surgery to victim of acid attack
- Colombia: A young manicurist was attacked with Sulphuric Acid on commands by a neighbor (Spanish)
- Ethiopia: Kamilat Mehdi, was walking home from work with her two sisters when a stalker threw sulphuric acid in her face burning beyond recognition
- India: Hundreds of attacks have been reported within the country since 1999
- Pakistan: A 16 year old boy was badly injured in an acid attack after he refused a Muslim cleric's sexual advances
- Thailand: 6 teens hurt in acid attack
- United States: Merritt College student scarred after assault - Oakland Tribune