KARACHI:
One of the most horrifying forms of gender-based violence in Pakistan is acid attack on women with the aim to take revenge and harm the person. It has long-lasting physical and psychological consequences that further pushes our women into deep dungeons while they are already deprived of rights and opportunities.
Pakistan is on the list of countries with a high rate of incidents of acid attacks on women. The opponents are most often relatives or rivals with motives stemming from family disputes or conflicts in (extra)marital relationships. Nearly 150 incidents of acid attacks are reported every year in Pakistan out of which about 50 occur in Balochistan, but the numbers are sharply growing across the country. This is one of the reasons our women are mentally and emotionally fragile. The psychological implications they are made to undergo through such incidents are irreversible.
The state and Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) are requested to take serious notice of this issue. This is one of the myriad challenges Pakistani women are facing as a price to survive in Pakistan.
Shahzaib Noor
Awaran
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2024.
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