Wounds run deep : Burnt and broken, teenage mother yearns for her daughters

19-year-old Taiba was set on fire by her husband before her in-laws snatched her children

PESHAWAR: With the only light coming through small holes in a mud wall, 19-year-old Taiba sits in a dark room with seared skin and an arm attached to her body. She thinks of her six-month-old daughter who was taken by her in-laws.

However, that was not before her husband set the 19-year-old on fire for refusing to part with her elder daughter Aleeza’s gold earrings, which he wanted to sell to buy hashish.

After four years of married life, the earrings were the only thing of any value that Taiba had left. Almost half her body was burnt in the incident that took place in Karachi. Today, she is back home in Peshawar.

“He got angry when I refused to give him the earrings,” a teary-eyed Taiba recalls. “How could I? It was the only thing of value I had for my little daughter.”

She adds, ”He hit my head with a jug and then doused my body with petrol. I tried to scream for help, but he put his hand on my mouth.”

The man subsequently reached for the matchbox, lit a match and threw it in her direction.

The frightful awakening

Days later, she opened her eyes at Burns Centre in Civil Hospital, Karachi where she was being checked by doctors.

Nurses were busy taking care of the wounds. Taiba tried to move her arms, but one was stuck to her body.

The 19-year-old is the eldest among seven sisters. Farhad, her father, tells The Express Tribune he chose his second cousin’s son Asif to marry his daughter.

“I did not know they would brutally burn her by dousing the girl with petrol,” he says.

Taiba’s in-laws contacted Farhad a week after the burning and told him that the 19-year-old tried to commit suicide. Her initial treatment took place in Karachi, but Farhad took her back to Peshawar as he could not afford the expenses in the country’s southern metropolis.

However, the hospital in Peshawar refused to treat her, saying this was a case from another city. Subsequently, she returned to Lady Reading Hospital where doctors told the victim she could spread germs and it was better if she got her dressing done at home.

“Initially, the doctors were reluctant to treat my daughter,” he says. “But then they gave us a date for surgery which was scheduled for July 2016. Later, the date was postponed to December. How will my daughter live for seven or eight months with an arm attached to her body? She can’t even move
her head.”

No FIR had been registered against the husband who still roams free after this act of brutality.

“I went to register a complaint,” he says. “However, the police said this case was not within their jurisdiction. We are poor and cannot afford to keep going to Karachi every month for a hearing.”

Taiba longs for her daughters and wants them to be by her side.

“I want them to at least give me my younger daughter,” she says. “She is too small to live without her mother. I tried to approach NGOs, but they refused to help, saying the case is too old.”

Observers say they are many Taibas who live in every street of every town in the country as many women face domestic violence and remain silent because of the lack of support from their families. There are many official and non-government organisations to deal with these cases. However, most of them remain eerily silent when it comes to this teenager.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2016.