http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=277431&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24
Women and children bear scars of most acid attacks
In this picture taken on Friday, Bably Akter hugs her mother at her home
in Dhaka
At first glance, Bably Akter looks like any other nine-year-old Bangladeshi
girl, dressed in a brightly coloured pink and turquoise skirt and top trimmed
with silver sequins.
A matching headband conceals her left ear, badly deformed and the only obvious
sign she is the victim of an acid attack, a practice rampant in the
impoverished country, used mainly in domestic disputes and against women and
children. As her mother, Parul, recounts the story of how Bably's father put
drops of acid on different parts of her body for five days when she was a baby,
the little girl lifts her skirt to reveal a large scar on her legs and feet.
"Her father wanted a son. He'd been violent towards me before Bably was born
but it was not until day five, when he actually fed her acid I realised
something was seriously wrong," Parul, 26, said.
She complained to the police but charges were never laid.
"We ran away and spent two years at the Acid Survivors' Foundation (ASF)
hospital where Bably had a lot of plastic surgery on her mouth. She still needs
more operations."
With her broad grin and her love of dancing, Bably speaks about her dreams of
one day becoming a doctor to help others in the South Asian nation.
"She says she doesn't remember what happened but sometimes she cries for no
reason. Her speech is a little bit impaired and she gets teased at school,"
Parul said.
The Dhaka-based ASF says most victims of acid attacks bear obvious physical
scars, which make them pariahs. Bably is one of the lucky ones.
Efforts in Bangladesh in recent years to curb the practice mean cases are
slowly declining, but human rights campaigners say acid remains too easy to
buy.
"Acid throwing is rampant in the southern and northern parts of Bangladesh
where it is used for dying the fishing nets and in the handloom industry," said
ASF doctor Imtiaz Bahar Choudhury.
Last year 179 people - three-quarters of those women and children - were
victims of acid violence in Bangladesh, with 20 cases already recorded for
2009, according to the ASF.
The most common reasons for the attacks are disputes over property and dowry
payments, and unrequited love where spurned suitors try to disfigure women who
reject them.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this week one woman in five around the
globe has been a victim of rape or attempted rape, and that in some countries
one woman in three has been beaten or subjected to some kind of violent act.
"Violence against women is an abomination. I'd like to call it a crime against
humanity," Ban said ahead of International Women's Day yesterday.
The last major study into domestic violence in Bangladesh found that about 60%
of women had been physically or sexually abused.
About 19% of those had experienced severe physical violence, defined as being
hit with a fist or object, kicked or dragged, beaten up, choked, burnt, or
threatened with a weapon.
Poverty, especially hunger, played a significant role in determining the degree
and frequency of violence against women at home in Muslim-majority Bangladesh,
where 40% of people live below the poverty line. AFP
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