An act of utter shame solely aimed to disfigure, torture or take revenge from the victim by pouring acids give disturbing insight into the horrific consequences a women faces in India due to some very petty reasons. The reasons that turn on the accused may range from being rejected for sexual intercourse to simply insinuated anger in them. There have been even worse cases – this monstrosity is not just perpetrated by jilted lovers or stalkers, but also by one’s own parent as an extreme reaction to their child being born female. Activist groups estimate that three acid attacks occur in India every week.
Acid attacks are classic example of the patriarchy system in India. A boy is allowed to do anything he pleases and always escapes with a slap on the wrist. He is treated specially and this conditions him to believe that he is entitled to everything he wants, including the girl of his choice. The perpetrators are either never caught or caught and investigated lightly. The other noted reasons could be land, property, and/or business disputes
There is a tremendous gap between rights and reality in India. State institutions have failed women and the lack of law enforcement is a major reason why violence against women is under reported. Even after continuous pushing by courts the open availability of acids comes as the cheapest weapon. Enacting stringent law to curb acid attacks still isn’t sound as rape. The accused walks free while the victims carry the sufferings for life. The lives ahead of such victims are hard.
Some worthy reading stories of acid attack survivors.
A two-month-old Anmol was being breastfed by her mother when her father doused them both with a can of acid with the intention to kill.Anmol Rodriquez then emerged as a fashionista and a saviour for many others like her.
Attacked at the young age of 15, Pramodini underwent multiple surgeries to get her vision back. The positive outcome of the days spent at the hospital was that she met Saroj, who was friends with one of the nurses there, and fell in love.
In the year 2003, three men entered Sonali's house and threw acid on her face, disfiguring it permanently. She featured in a crime programme once and was noticed by Chittaranjan Tiwari. He got in touch with her and proposed for marriage after a few months.
Out of sheer fear, Geeta dropped all charges against her husband, welcomed him home, and had a third daughter, Poonam. The women have spent the past two decades living in fear that he will attack them again.
If India manages to regulate the sale of acids, it may see a drop in attacks but the greater struggle will be in breaking down the cultural norms that encourage these attacks. As a study by the Avon Global Center found, these attacks often are personal, and “perpetrators often intend to destroy what society considers to be one of the most valuable traits of a woman—her beauty". Curbing these attacks need stringent dealing and mutual upgrading of the law enforcement and creating ease of living for survivors.