Acid attack: As one victim ‘forgives’ her attacker, the other is threatened to follow suit

It is unbelievable that he has managed to get out so quickly after what he did: victim Eman.

KARACHI:

A rejected proposal led to an acid attack that scarred two young women for life but the man who did it has made it out of jail after barely a month.

According to police reports, Kamran went to a residence in Surjani Town on December 25 after his proposal for Zahrah (not her real name) was turned down by her family. As he attacked Zahrah with acid, Eman (not her real name) tried to save her but ended up burning as well.  An FIR was registered against Kamran and his accomplice, Azeem, by Zahrah’s family and the men were taken into custody within two weeks. “I did my job,” said the investigating officer Jamal Khan. “I caught both the accused men, charged them accordingly and presented them in court with all the evidence.”

But in a turn of events, Zahrah and her family stepped back and decided to forgive Kamran. “He barely spent a month in custody, 15 days in jail and another 15 in prison,” said Khan. There are unconfirmed reports that Zahrah’s family and Kamran agreed on a monetary settlement.

This leaves Eman, who received 24 per cent burns, still reeling from the attack. She recently learnt that she may need to undergo another round of surgery to save the mobility in her right arm. “I’m very scared and Kamran and his friends have been threatening us if we don’t sign the mafi nama (forgiveness certificate),” she told The Express Tribune. “It is unbelievable that he has managed to get out so quickly after what he did.”

Eman said that after spending a month in hospital, she still has to go back daily to have her bandages changed and medicine applied. These daily trips cost her about Rs800 to Rs1,000 a day. “My father is the only earning member in the house and as it is, we are struggling with the finances. We do not need the extra stress of this person harassing us.”

Eman has been disappointed by political leaders, who had promised to stand by her when the case had initially come under the media’s radar. “I have called the human rights minister, Nadia Gabol, at least 15 times but she does not have the time to entertain my calls and asks me to wait a month before my case can be looked into,” Eman said. “But I need help now. In a month, I may lose my arm.”

Officer Khan has said that unless one of the two victims appears in court, on February 10 to testify against Kamran, he might be released.

This is unfortunately the way most of these cases end up. According to Zohra Yusuf of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in at least 90 per cent of the violence against women cases, the accused goes scot-free. “This only happens when the victims feel insecure, especially when the attackers are let out on bail,” she said. “But it is the police’s duty to make these women feel safe. If they had the assurance that they would receive justice, they would be more confident about pursuing a case.”

Yusuf urged the law enforcement agencies to prevent women from being pressured, such as in this case. “The police and judiciary cannot absolve itself by saying that the two parties have come to a private settlement,” she argued. “Crimes are not committed against an individual, they are committed against a society.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5^th, 2012.