20-year-old survives acid and blade attack

SUKKUR: A 20-year-old woman was attacked with acid by her husband on Thursday night in Sukkur.

Rashda, who is also called Sanam, lived with her parents in Ahmednagar, New Pind, and was married to 45-year-old junk dealer Yar Mohammad Gadani three months ago. The couple moved to a residential colony near Ayub Gate. But she returned to her parents a few days ago after a fight with him.

He came to take her back home on Thursday evening but once at their house, he started beating her. “He tied my hands to a chair and cut them with a blade,” she told The Express Tribune. “Then he took out a bottle of acid and thew its contents at my face.”

According to Sanam, Gadani used to live in their neighbourhood and had always wanted to marry her but the family was not interested because he was much older than her and didn’t have the best of reputations.

Gadani persisted, however, and when repeatedly rebuffed, he had Sanam picked up by some friends and kept for three days. The family had to capitulate to save face and she was forced to marry him.

“He is an alcoholic and used to beat me for one reason or the other,” she said.

After he attacked her with acid he ran off. Sanam managed to untie herself and wash her face with water. She screamed for help which brought the neighbours running. They took her to Civil hospital, where doctors said that fortunately, she was only burnt 10 per cent.

“I will never go back,” she said. “He will surely kill me if I do.”

Sanam’s father Fazal Abro is a gardener with the taluka municipal administration, Sukkur. According to him, he had lodged a complaint against his son-in-law at the B Section police station but no arrests had been made.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2010.