Years of abuse: Pakistani Allah Rakhi, 51, whose
husband sliced off her nose and slashed her right foot with a razor in
1980, when she was 19. After marrying at 13, Rakhi suffered six years of
abuse at the hands of her husband, right, she holds a photo of them
before the attack
Survivor: Acid attack survivor, Shamma Maqsood,
24, holds a picture of herself before the vicious assault. Shamma was
attacked by her husband on March 20, 2012, following an argument about
him being jobless
While the details of every case of violence against Pakistani woman differ, many are based on a concept of 'family honor.'
Women
can be targeted for suspicion of an affair, wishing to divorce or
dressing inappropriately. Hundreds women are murdered each year because
of mere suspicions.
Victim: Pakistani acid attack survivor, Naila
Farhat, 22, was attacked in 2003 by her teacher's friend, after her
parents refused his marriage proposal. She holds a photo of herself
before the attack
Acid attack survivor: Naziran Bibi, 25, shows a
picture of herself before the attack, at the Acid Survivors Foundation
(ASF), in Islamabad, Pakistan. Naziran, who was treated badly by her
second husband and his first wife, was attacked in 2008, by an unknown
person while she was sleeping
Coming together: Rakhi, 51, fourth left, stands
with acid attack survivors, outside Benazir Bhutto hospital in
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
The nose is considered the
symbol of family honor in Pakistan - explaining why a woman's nose is
often the target of spousal abuse. A popular plea from parents to
children is 'Please take care of our nose,' which means, 'don't do
anything that tarnishes the reputation of the family.'
Rooted
in tribal ideas that a woman's chastity is the property of the man,
honor killings are practiced in much of the Arab world and South Asia.
They have also been carried out by immigrants from those regions to the
West.
Pakistani courts have
a history of letting off offenders or giving them only light
punishment, assuming the cases get to trial at all.
Terrifying: Sajda Ansar, 26, was set on fire by by her husband last April, following an argument regarding his drug addiction
Brutal revenge: Acid attack survivor Parveen
Aslam, 42, is examined by Dr Hamid Hasan, left, at Benazir Bhutto
Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Parveen and her daughter Zaiba were
attacked last December by a man after the parents refused his marriage
proposal of their elder daughter
Chilling crimes: Akhtar Yar, 9, holds the hand
of his brother Rukhan, 23, left, standing next to eunuch and acid attack
survivor, Zafar Iqbal, 23. Akhtar and his father were attacked in 2004
by a man who the father had had an argument with earlier in the day.
Zafar was attacked in 2003, by a man he refused to have a relationship
with
Rakhi's husband, for example,
served just 10 months in jail before being released in exchange for a
commitment to pay her medical bills. He never did.
Accurate
statistics on the extent of honor crimes are hard to come by, because
many cases go unreported or are settled out of court under pressure from
the families of the victim and the attacker.
The
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that in 2011, at least 943
women were murdered, nine had their noses cut off, 98 were tortured, 47
set on fire and 38 attacked with acid.
Efforts
to introduce stronger laws to increase punishments for violence against
women have been blocked by an Islamist political party which publicly
supports the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. The party, Jamiat Ulema
Islam, is a member of the ruling coalition.
Child victims: Zaiba Aslam, 10, is helped by her
mother Parveen, who also an acid attack survivor, to adjust her scarf
as they arrive at the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF), in Islamabad,
Pakistan. Right, Sedra Javeed, 14, is examined by Dr Hamid Hasan. Sedra
was attacked last June by a man she refused to have a relationship with
Benazir Bhutto hospital: Pakistani acid attack
survivor, Saeda Kouser, 24, lies in bed after having surgery on her
neck. Saeda was attacked in 2008, by her husband while she was sleeping
The lower houses of parliament passed the bill, but the JUI is preventing its passage through the upper house.
'We
will never let it happen,' said JUI senator Maulana Ghafoor Haideri,
who said the bill was an attempt to 'Westernize' Pakistan. 'It will ruin
our family institutions,' he said.
Shad
Begum, a Pakistani right activists who received the U.S. International
Woman of Courage award from first lady Michelle Obama this year, said
firmer laws and better enforcement are the only solution to violence
against woman.
'Our leaders
need to take a firm stand,' she said. 'If a man makes a woman a victim,
or makes an 'example out of her' as he believes, our courts should also
make an example out of him.'
Rakhi
was attacked when she was 19, after being married at 13. Despite being
illegal, child marriages remain common in parts of Pakistan.
Support: A board showing pictures of acid attack
survivors is placed on a wall inside the Acid Survivors Foundation, in
Islamabad, Pakistan
Brave: Pakistani acid Attack survivor Akhtar
Yar, 9, center, recites verses of the holy Quran, while attending his
daily classes at his school in Peshawar, Pakistan
Following the attack, she worked
to support herself and her daughter, painting flowers on pots in a
factory and buying and selling clothes in markets across the country,
all the time hidden behind a veil.
'I
died every moment,' Rakhi said in her three-room mud and brick house in
a village hidden among the wheat fields of Pakistan's Punjab province.
Rakhi's husband divorced her soon after he was released from prison, she said.
In
a bizarre twist, the 51-year-old woman now lives again under the same
roof as him - something she claims as a 'victory,' but also perhaps
points to her poverty and lack of alternatives.
Rakhi's son persuaded her to return home, anxious for her to have a more comfortable life.
On
a recent visit, the husband scooted out of the house as Rakhi welcomed a
reporter, and he did not made himself available for comment.
She
said she never stopped hoping for a new nose, but doctors were
unwilling to operate because she suffers from hepatitis C, a liver
condition that can complicate surgery.
It
was her daughter who gave her the chance. She was working in the
capital, Islamabad, at an institute that provides training for woman
recovering from having acid thrown on their faces.
She introduced Rakhi to the Acid Survivors Foundation, which put her in touch with a surgeon.
Dr. Hamid Hasan took her case for free. Asked why he would take the chance, he answered, 'Her pleas. Her tears.'
At a follow up appointment last month, Hasan touched the scars where the stitches once were on her nose and forehead.
Rakhi winced slightly, and smiled as the surgeon took his hands away.
Hasan said her positive attitude was important for the other operations she must undergo in the coming months.
'Thank God I did not commit suicide,' Rakhi said. 'Life is a blessing!'
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