Acid Attacks On Women, The Revenge When A Woman Says No To A Man

In a world, which many can’t accept ‘no’ for an answer, acid attacks on women have increased and now very common in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Europe. Worldwide, every year, 1.5 thousand acid attacks are registered and 80% of the victims are women and men are responsible.

According to statistics from the Acid Survivors Foundation India (ASFI), 46% of cases are either caused by the spouse or relative. The perpetrators have various reasons to commit such a horrendous crime in a fit of rage, for refusal to marry, revenge for caring for another, suspicion of treason, divorce, and jealousy.

The purpose of the attack is to break the life of the young woman, disfigure her appearance and leave her in a lifelong scar. To the perpetrators, it’s a lesson to the woman and her life enveloped in destruction will serve as a deterrent to other women who openly reject a man’s love advances.

In other words, a woman has to accept the suitor if she doesn’t love him, whether he comes from a family of thieves, criminals or diseases, you have no right to say no. Women have become subjects to discrimination, abuse, domination, rape, violence, without any proper organizations to protect them.

In countries which laws are inefficient and bogus like the lawyers, the protection of women isn’t a priority, most serious offenses aren’t punishable. Surprisingly, many even think the victims deserve it. They don’t even make it difficult or implement a law which would make the purchase of acid difficult.

Without much effort, the attackers who usually target not any beautiful part of the body than the face, easily purchase Sulfuric or hydrochloric acid, substances which are very corrosive and immediately get into the skin, cause a chemical burn, corrode tissues and probably cause blindness as happened to hundreds of victims.

The sad part of these horrible crimes which leave the victims scarred for life is that the perpetrators will do everything to remain full members of society. Acid attacks have now crossed borders from developing to developed countries, including Europe.

There are places in the world where such attacks occur all the time but are not registered anywhere. In some countries, the victims and their relatives don’t even make an effort to let the authorities know about it because they fear revenge from criminals or simply don’t have confidence in the police. Acid attacks often appear in the news because the victims could not do without treatment.

Acid attack survivors in India
A rampant wave of acid attacks has hit the United Kingdom in recent years, an average of 15 per week, 70% of which occurred in London. Between January 2015 and May 2018, there were 2602 attacks, against 100, that took place between 2007 and 2011.

The rampant attacks are attributed to the increase in migratory flows into the United Kingdom, from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, all for reasons of jealousy or when they refuse a marriage proposal.

Until the continuous abuse and violence against women are considered serious crimes worldwide, thus, putting the perpetrators behind bars for several years, what has happened to women in the past is just the tip of the iceberg, God only knows what is yet to come.