Pakistan

Man throws acid on wife to show ‘ghairat’

A man threw acid on his wife on suspicion of her having an affair in a bid to 'preserve' his 'honour'.

Ppi June 21, 2010

A man threw acid on his wife on suspicion of her having an affair in a bid to ‘preserve’ his ‘honour’.

Irshad, son of Mushtaq, was arrested by the Shah Faisal police with the help of a non-governmental organisation, Madadgaar, after an FIR (363/2010) was lodged against him.

Sultana, 35, married Irshad out of her own will. After their marriage, Irshad started suspecting her of having an affair and remained suspicious even after they had five children.

On May 27 this year, he threw acid on her face while she was sleeping. She received severe burns and was rushed to the Burns Centre at Civil Hospital, Karachi, by her in-laws, who threatened to harm her children if she told anyone who the culprit was.

During the acid attack, Sultana’s younger children were also injured.

On June 18, Madadgaar, the helpline for women and children, made a routine visit to the Burns Centre, where Sultana narrated her ordeal to their field officer, Bushra Syed.

Sultana said that she wanted to see her husband behind bars but she was afraid to record any statement as her husband and his family continued to threaten her.

The NGO contacted SHO Shah Faisal Colony SI Atiq and after formally recording her statement, they arrested Irshad.

Irshad told the police that his wife was not of good character and he threw acid to show his ghairat. Sultana is presently under treatment at the Burns Centre but she has lost an eye permanently from the acid attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2010.

COMMENTS (22)

sofia | 14 years ago | Reply respected men!!! i am touched with all your comments and dialogues BUT how many of you are practicing it?have any of you the courage to step forward and give shelter to any rape victim??? would you be able to stand solid infront of her against your dear families/society/relatives/friends etc??? its always easy to claim big but trust me in our prestigious society you cant do nothing...even we cant debate on such delicate issues..here,its safe no1 knows us..no1 can tell what we are talking where we are talking..so its safe mode to xpress our views...but its only possible when we would place examples in reality to get followers...one day maybe we could be able to stand in far better societies!!!

Hassan | 14 years ago | Reply If she was " of bad character " why didn't he just divorce her ? Amjad Aslams comment above hits the nail on the head, Far too much Jalliyat in Pakistan.

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Ammar Rashid | 14 years ago | Reply I agree with Mushtaque, because a woman's life is equal to that of a corpse or dead body after she has been attacked with acid. Even if the victim survives, the culprit/attacker deserves no mercy. The minimum should be a 'repayment in kind' with acid, while a court-ordered death sentence would obviously deter other men trying to make themselves more 'honourable' this way. Unless our society learns to respect women, we are doomed.

hasib | 14 years ago | Reply why do we bring religion into every thing? Forget that the man has committed this act in guise of religion. The man has committed a crime and crime should be punished in any civil society.

AHSAN RAFIQUE BUTT | 14 years ago | Reply Religion is the driving force to get rid of such incidents. If we all, men and the women, come within the limits defined by Islam, there will be no chances of any misdeeds.

uXuf | 14 years ago | Reply Take his eye out for sure. An eye for an eye, and she has already lost her eye.

Abid | 14 years ago | Reply Death penalty is too harsh I think cutting off a hand would do the trick

Nojeba | 14 years ago | Reply He should be publicly hanged or given a death penalty. Problem wih Pakistan is there is no accountability. If people like him are publicly punished, others will fear punishment. This case was reported. So many similar cases go unreported cuz women are scared these men will not be caught and they will eventually suffer more.

Tanzeel | 14 years ago | Reply Don't advocate throwing acid, let God decide their fate. Who we are to decide what to with the culprit? Law is there, just follow it!

Hammer man | 14 years ago | Reply There was a poll yesterday somewhat along the lines: "should acid throwers be given the death penalty." I personally felt a death penalty would be too harsh, after all thats taking a life away! I believe it would be more reasonable if the victim should be allowed to avenge the abuser by giving him/her a face wash with acid.

Saim Saeed Tanauli | 14 years ago | Reply such people should be treated on criminal offence charges and that too on a high note...they shouldnt be given a chance to make it off after committing such a heinous act...they need to be punished !!

KM | 14 years ago | Reply Simply throw acid on HIS face in public, and this should be fate of every wrong doer. This is the justice available in the so called Islamic society, but we being a confused society will make mountain out of a mole hill, eventually provided a loophole to the convict to escape. Will we ever get to the right path?

Ghausia | 14 years ago | Reply I'm a strong believer in "violence does not beget violence" but someone throw acid on Irshad's face already. There's too much jahalat in this country, that's the main problem, its why things like honour killings and acid throwing exist in the first place.

ANM | 14 years ago | Reply I would like to propose a new system of honor. When a man harms a woman, in order to keep their honor, his family must do the same to him. This would be a true showing of honor unlike the barbaric beating and torture of women under the guise of "religion."

Adeel | 14 years ago | Reply well said Mushtaq

Mushtaque Ahmed | 14 years ago | Reply Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth has been permitted by Islam. Ulema and mashaikh should guide civil society through ijma and qiyas and hopefully conclude: You throw acid on your wife, your wife should be legally allowed to throw acid on the husband's face. Period. Acid throwing will stop.

tayyab jan | 14 years ago | Reply it is very unfortunate that if a women did a mistake she should be punished but if a man did so he is free what sort of justice is this.irshad should be punished so that others got lesson

Mansoor Khalid | 14 years ago | Reply On one side where it is a crime and a breach on basic human rights, this point out to false levels of prestige we have set for ourselves. Oppressing women does not bring you prestige or pride. The same ideology goes for religion. Oppressing a minority or even your views on others does not bring you religious nobility.

bruna | 14 years ago | Reply It's quite sad to see that those kind of barbarian situation are still continuing to happen. It's not about disrespect for cultures or believing in "another" God. or any other excuse you want to use to forgive the act.. The people have the right to continuing with their traditions and live based what they think is right. BUT, when it gets into hurt somebody fiscally and mentally, it's nothing to say or not to fell proud about your culture! I fell sorry for this woman and for other million ones suffer the pain of such a unfair law, that just benefits one side of the society, the men.. There's no perfect country, no perfect people to construct perfect laws and put violence like those seen as part of it. I fell ashamed for leaving in such a world that still accepts those kind of behavior!

Abdullah Soomro | 14 years ago | Reply I agree with Amjad Sahab. He has rightly pointed out the root cause. It is high time we address the root cause to eliminate the menace of acid attack from our society.

amjad aslam | 14 years ago | Reply throwing of acid is just a symptom of a much deeper disease which is deeprooted in our national psyche.Man's honour is vested in the women of the house:mother,sister,wife,daughter etc.The women in our society are under trmendous pressure throughout their lives as their family's "honour" is linked to their remaining "pure". If a girl gets raped in our country,not only has she to cope with her violation but the "shame" she has brought upon her whole family through no fault of hers.That's why we see rape victims in our country committing suicides.Even if they don't commit suicide,they are treated as social parahias.No man wants to marry a rape victim,no motherinlaw looks for a rape victim as a daughther in law.Our culture makes life unbelievably suffocating for a rape victim.In the case mentioned above,the "ghairatmand" husband is just a run of the mill,insecure,paranoid,suspicious man(of which there are plenty in our country).He will get away scot free because there are no laws to persecute him just as hundreds of such barbarians have gotten away in the past decades.In our country laws were made by men,for men and to keep them as the masters of the women in their lives and until the women in our country stand up & fight for their rights,such incidents will continue to happen.

Ali | 14 years ago | Reply There should be a severe punishment for acid attackers.. I don't understand why is it hard for Government to make a law against such people..

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